The Bends vs. My Pride

As I sit here on my lunch break with my water, my apple, my PB&J I think to myself Jessica, I am proud of you. I am proud that despite the minor hiccups along the way, you always try to make healthy decisions. "Try" being the operative word here. I try to be conscious of what I put into my body, who I let into my life, how I care for others. Sometimes I fail. Sometimes more often than not, I fail. But sometimes it's the experience of failing, the feeling of failure that reminds us that we are human. The blemishes and the scars you pick up along the way help grow your compassion for others. I am a firm believer in my imperfection and the imperfection of others.

At times, I get the bends, as Thom Yorke would belt out, or the mean reds, as Holly Golightly would chatter. But the bends or the reds, they're transient, just temporary. My pride, my zest for life, those are permanent.