Wednesday, June 8, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Commentary...
What does it take to change?
By Katy yoder
Correspondent
Cancer is a powerful moti-
vator for change. Sometimes
it takes the realization that
death is closer than we think
to finally wake up and live.
There are parts of my life
that I chose to ignore. When I
look back, I see myself walk-
ing around like a zombie,
eyes dull and my body mov-
ing without much direction.
Sometimes I would wake up
and realize I wasn’t living my
life to its fullest. I’d make a
meager attempt at change but
soon lapsed back into sleep-
walking through my days.
Why are our addictions
stronger than our will to live?
Why did I choose what I
knew was unhealthy for me?
I “treated” myself to high-
quality, but nonetheless sug-
ary rewards. After a long day
at work, I often chose to curl
up on the couch to watch TV
and have some kind of snack.
I’d look outside my window
and know I should be outside
walking, riding my bike, gar-
dening … anything that got
me outside and moving. But
I didn’t have the gumption to
get up and do it.
Often dinner was a last-
minute decision based on fa-
tigue and how famished I was
that day. The same happened
at lunchtime. I would get
caught up in my day and by
2 p.m. was desperately hun-
gry. I knew if I didn’t eat im-
mediately I’d get a migraine
or get dizzy and feel like I
might pass out. Even worse
my plummeting blood sugar
could turn me into a vola-
tile woman with a flashpoint
unknown until it erupted.
That funny term, “hangry”
(hungry+angry) described
me perfectly. So I began the
never-ending battle of making
sure I didn’t get to that point. I
was a slave to my blood sugar.
I lived like that for years,
with periodic rushes to the
surface for a breath of fresh
air. Coming to the surface
meant I’d try a new diet,
South Beach, Adkins, meal
replacement … you name it
I’ve done it. At first, it would
work and I’d begin to lose
weight. But soon, I’d begin to
have debilitating migraines,
skin rashes and — in some
cases — serious medical ram-
ifications for my change in
diet. I’d go off the diet in dis-
gust and frustration and give
up out of self-preservation. I
didn’t understand what was
happening to me physically,
let alone what was going on
in my head that got me into
this mess in the first place.
Why did I become a com-
pulsive eater? Oh, boy, that’s
a touchy one! Working on
my journaling and writing
a memoir has begun to shed
some light on that. I grew
up in a very strict household
where I was seldom allowed
to voice an opinion. I did
what I was told … period!
Food was one of my sneaky
ways to get back at the adults
who ruled my life. If I wasn’t
supposed to eat sugary cere-
als, I’d steal some from my
cousin’s house. I can’t for the
life of me remember why, but
I can see myself hoisting my-
self up on the counter in our
kitchen grabbing the Kraft
parmesan cheese and pouring
it into my mouth. It was my
little way to get even.
Later, when I could drive
myself around, I went to fast-
food places like Wendy’s and
Jack-in-the-Box. I’d pull in
and order something that I
knew was against our eat-
ing rules and feel victorious.
I wasn’t overweight in high
school, but I was setting up
the dynamics for health prob-
lems in the future. Then I
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added beer into the mix. Col-
lege was tough for me. It was
hard academically, but also
provided all kinds of learn-
ing opportunities through a
friend’s suicide, my own de-
pression, a serious accident
where I could have died, and
eventually academic proba-
tion. I rallied and got my de-
gree, but college opened the
floodgates for weight prob-
lems that I’d struggle with for
the rest of my life.
I’ve had years to truly un-
derstand what it’s like to be
fat. Children have asked in-
nocent but hurtful questions
about why I’m fat. I have
seen the disgust in people’s
eyes as they look me up and
down. I know the embar-
rassment of not being able to
keep up with my friends. I’ve
felt the shame of worrying if
I’d fit in a chair or seat at the
movies. But that wasn’t moti-
vating enough for me.
I needed cancer to truly get
well. Either that or it was my
time to check out. I don’t want
to leave yet. I want to meet
my future grandchildren and
watch our daughter’s life un-
fold. I want to see more of the
world and do it without extra
pounds slowing me down.
There’s no time like now
to live. It’s all I’ve got, it’s all
any of us have. It’s never easy
to look inside and face what
shapes us as adults. For me,
opening that door has brought
light into the dark corners
and a chance to heal what has
been hidden. It’s scary, excit-
ing and freeing. I recommend
it highly.
SCHEDuLE: Enrollment
got a small bump
in June
Continued from page 3
classes we were trying to
provide for our students.”
The need to align sched-
ules was part of the impetus
to make the change.
“Having the same sched-
ule at the middle and high
school is a priority as we
share several staff mem-
bers in these buildings.
Additionally, class continu-
ity, more options for all stu-
dents during the school day,
potentially lower class sizes
contribute to us moving to
a seven-period semester
schedule next year,” Scholl
wrote.
The district saw a small
bump in enrollment to close
the year. Overall enrollment
stands at 1,118.5, up from
1,099 at the end of 2014-15.
The high school showed a
27-student bump from May
29
to June of this year, but most
of that is accounted for by
the district being allowed
to count enrollment from
the Heart of Oregon Corps
program.
The statistics do not
show an overall year-to-
year increase in enrollment;
the elementary school is
down 10.5 students from
the end of 2014-15 and the
middle school is down 3.5.
However, each school saw
a couple of more students
in June than they had in
May.
As Superintendent Scholl
noted at last Wednesday’s
school board meeting, “We
do have new students in
every building.”
Enrollment is critical to
the fiscal health of the dis-
trict, because state funding
is allocated on a per-student
basis.
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