Virginian

I am now, officially, a resident of Virginia. I have a Virginia license, Virginia registration, and am registered to vote here. Not only that, but I now officially own my vehicle, which I didn't before. My dad signed it over to me today.

They say that people in their late teens and early twenties are most susceptible to anxiety and depression, probably because this is when they are becoming independent and finding out who they are. This path has been extremely rocky for me, the break-away from depending on others, such as my parents and boyfriend, and becoming financially and emotionally independent.

My parents have been here for the last two and a half weeks, and while it may seem at times like they shelter and baby me, the real truth is I am so fortunate that they do. I greatly appreciate their care and concern, and their lucky ability to be able to be here at my side in a second when I am in need.

One positive aspect of this issue is that it has helped me to be more healthy. While it did cause me to stop eating altogether for a few days, now I am back to having an appetite, but it is smaller, healthier, and I have been walking at least a mile and a half every day, resulting in the loss of 10 lbs. in less than 3 weeks (or maybe that's not so healthy, but not terrible).

I guess I just have to take it slowly. My therapist (who is amazing, by the way) has been focusing a lot on the fact that I was adopted, and that even though it was when I was only a month old, I was still taken away from the only attachment I had all of a sudden immediately after birth and was moved around a few times in the first few weeks of my life. That lack of stability, even as an infant - especially as an infant - can psychologically affect a person and is common for adoptees, apparently.

I want to say thank you, not only to my parents and family/family friends (who have checked up on me every day), but to my loving boyfriend and understanding friends. I felt like a few have drifted away from me during this time. Whether you're scared or don't understand what's going on, I want to say that I really do wish you would have at least kept in touch and asked how I was doing or shown some consideration instead of running away. I still want to be friends and am not going to push you away back, but I do want to say to the friends I have learned are sincerely true, thank you so much. You have made this a lot easier and less painful, whether it seems like it or not.