Hi im Ellie

Hey everyone. I’m about to tell you all a really personal story, and then, I could use your help.

The blonde in the pictures above is my little sister, Rachel. She’s 14, a freshman in high school. She’s one of the smartest kids you’ll ever meet, to be honest. Smarter than me. She’s got an amazing sense of humor and the most gorgeous smile, the sort of person who just lights up a room with laughter after being in it for five minutes. Even though I’m 19 and I should be the tough one, she’s held me when I cried, and she cooks me dinner when I’m too lazy to do it, and she gives me confidence when I don’t believe in myself. We cosplay together, we fangirl together, and we talk Tumblr-speak at the dinner table. It’s not an exaggeration when I tell you this girl is my entire world. I’d do anything for her, and I love her more than words could fully describe.

On Friday, she was admitted to a psychiatric hospital after a year of battling severe depression and anxiety.

She thinks she’s ugly. She thinks her future doesn’t matter. She often hates herself, and can’t see all the amazing things everyone else knows is obvious just from their first glance at her.

The red tie on my wrist you see in the third picture was from her. Behavioral hospitals don’t allow anything with strings on them, so after she pulled out the tie for her sweatshirt, she wrapped it around my wrist for me to wear until she gets back. It might only be for a weekend, or it might be for longer. I don’t know yet.

Here’s where I’m asking for your help. At the earliest, Rachel is coming home on Sunday, but it’ll probably be longer. Still, that means I might only have two days to get the message out. I want to show her when she comes home that there are people out there who believe in her. Who think she’s beautiful and worth fighting for, worth recovery.