Melody's story - part 5
A Turn of events
In the fall of 2002, I began my senior year of college. It was supposed to be the hardest semester on education majors because we were required to take 18 hours of credits and an internship at a school. On top of that, many of us also had part time jobs. Under normal circumstances, I would have been under a large amount of stress. Under the current circumstances, I was overwhelmed to the point of giving up. Before I had been in classes for more than a month, I checked myself into the hospital for a weekend. I had noticed all the warning lights telling me I was headed in a bad direction, and I took heed. The weekend gave me a safe place to think. When I came back to school, I made the decision to drop my internship and several classes. I would delay my graduation. I had to do it to survive.
With the one less worry of school, I finally began to relax. My depression began to lift and my attention became less focused on myself and more focused on others. Then, the unexpected happened. I fell in love.
I was always the tomboy who swore never to get married. Men were not to be trusted, and I usually avoided them at all costs. I was always shocked if someone asked me out on a date, and I had a habit of pushing away anyone who showed interest in me. Thus, it was a big surprise when I went on my first date in years.
His name was Tony. I'd met him through work; in fact, he was the general manager of the store I worked at. The reason I decided to date him was due to a nagging thought in the back of my head. I just kept thinking that he could be the one. I didn't want to say no and take that chance of missing out on something wonderful. At first, I had love-hate feelings towards Tony. This changed quickly when we began dating, and disappeared completely when he left the store. Our relationship grew very fast. We had a lot of things to work through because of the sexual abuse I had endured as a child. I had intimacy and trust issues that were hard to overcome. But Tony was patient and supportive. He always believed in me and respected me. As the days passed, I only loved him more and more.
Meanwhile, my coping skills improved. My depression lifted. I began to eat without purging, and I stopped cutting. For the first time in months, I was happy.
On the day before Thanksgiving, Tony and I were on vacation. We had been dating for two months, but it had seemed like much longer. I already knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. He felt the same way. We were sitting on the pier in Charleston when he asked me to marry him. It was the greatest question I have ever been asked. Of course I said yes. I knew I would never regret it.
*To be continued*
See: About the Author for more stories about Melody