Davina Faust

My Childhood Pain is My Passion

I wasn’t born hating myself. I remember, although having my quirks (I was making a cross-eyed face in my preschool group photo), I was a normal, happy little girl. Somewhere along the line, though, I began to feel shame. During what should have been my most joyous phase of life, my top priorities became self-criticism and obsessively attempting to fix my flaws. I suffered silently for decades before I realized that my life’s purpose was not to be at war with myself. It has since become my passion and my life mission to not only study why this happened to me, but to prevent it from happening to more children. I am working on writing a book on body image for adolescents and creating an inclusive, online community space for them. To reflect on the prompt, I believe I attract followers and supporters because I am willing to authentically share my story, even if it brings up painful memories; because I know that my own vulnerability could pass along courage and healing to someone else.