Red String Bracelet

During one of my last weekends in the States, Katy and Amber had an awesome India party at the Kremlin, where they shared their adventures over a two-month span in India. Everyone present had a red string tied around their wrist, which is apparently a common ritual at shrines around India.

I still haven't taken mine off, and every time I look at it I'm happy, because it reminds me of good times and good friends. I assumed I would wear the bracelet until it fell off.

Here we pick up the story from a different thread. I've always been thin, but healthy and a ravenous eater. That hasn't stopped a number of concerned friends and authority figures from pulling me aside to ask if I have an eating disorder. These situations are usually embarrassing, on both ends, but non-lethal. The other day, however, I was riding the bus when a woman started whispering to me confidentially about getting help for my disorder. She kept repeating "I can see you're pro-ana, but you really should talk to someone." I assumed this was just typical life weirdness, and got off the bus, but when I got home I started getting curious about the pro-ana (pro-anorexia) phenomenon, and looked the whole thing up on wikipedia.

(This is the part where it all comes together.)

APPARENTLY, there is a large contingent of women who are anorexic or bulimic, but deny that these practices are harmful or dangerous. To show support to each other, they wear red string bracelets.

Of course they do.

I'm not taking my string off. It makes me happy and reminds me of home. But at least now I'll be more prepared for random bus-time therapy.