Beautiful Me Week Celebrates Beautiful You

During the week of Feb. 20-24, students participated in Beautiful Me Week. Beautiful Me is an organization founded by Molly McElroy ‘17 and her mother, Pat McElroy, in 2012.

McElroy decided she wanted to find a way to help people who suffered from eating disorders, as she had the experience in the past.

Different events occurred each day throughout Beautiful Me Week, such as kickboxing and Zumba on Feb. 20 and 22 to promote fast activity. Other events had a more
calming approach to the week such as a Bible study on Feb. 22, yoga on Feb. 23, and rock painting on Feb. 24. Students who participated in at least one event throughout the week earned the chance to win a free T-shirt.

McElroy and other students ran a booth outside of the dining hall during the week where anyone could add to their “No Crap Scrap” book, take a picture with a frame that said “I Am Enough,” and learn more information about Beautiful Me.

On Tuesday night, McElroy shared her story with the Wilson community. Her struggle began with an eating disorder during her sophomore year of high school. McElroy explains that the eating disorder caused her to believe that “she was not good enough, she was not pretty, and she would only be happy if she was skinny.”

McElroy suffered from Anorexia-Nervosa for 4 years before finding recovery. Founding Beautiful Me was her way of raising awareness and helping others who are suffering from eating disorders.

When asked about her vision for the future of Beautiful Me, McElroy stated, “My mom, Pat McElroy, and my new partner, Hannah Grice, are currently working on making this a non-profit organization. In the future, our goal is to create an EFT [Equine Facilitated Therapeutics] program, online counseling program, and continue to do speeches and spread awareness.”

For more information on Beautiful Me or to learn how you can also help spread awareness, visit their website at www.beautifulmecampagin.me/.