No Exceptions

Hi! My name is Kara, and welcome to my super fabulous blog! Since I can remember, I have struggled with anxiety, and remember feeling lost, like I had no one. My goal for this blog is to provide a safe environment for young people like me who can relate to this feeling. I also want people to not only feel understood, but to better understand who they are after leaving my blog each day. I am looking forward to sharing my personal experiences, successes, and resources that have personally helped me throughout this journey. By the way, if you are wondering about the title of my blog, it is the title of the first blog post I have ever published, "No Exceptions." (You're going to have to scroll down really far to find it, but trust me, it's worth it!) I wrote this narrative essay last year for a writing contest, that I ended up winning! I based the piece on the struggles I went through when I was 10 years old, after my parents got divorced. I felt so lost, and had a nee...

      Helpless. Confused. Young. Too young. Ellie, 10 years old was too young to experience these feelings.       Ellie didn't understand the reason she always felt the need to clean. Or the reason she felt urges persuading her to complete nonsense rituals. Her small house used to be a place filled with laughter. Now it was a prison. She was trapped.       It triggered over winter break. Ellie's parents had fought for years, but this time her mother was through. Every day, for a long time, Ellie's mother lay in bed, tears streaming down her face. Ellie wanted more than anything to see her mother smile again, so she cleaned... everything. Ellie strived to create an atmosphere of perfection. Constantly intruders bombarded her mind with their screeching voices. No exceptions.       The worst didn't come until night. Showering became a task for Ellie. She had to scrub her body until her mind felt satisf...