At first glance, most people probably wouldn’t know there was anything wrong with Bekah Georgy. The bubbly teen loves ballet and dogs and spending time with her friends and family.
What most people don’t know is that she has been battling anorexia for most of her life.
“When you look at me, you might assume I’m happy, bubbly, outgoing and full of life. But you don’t really see the complete me,” Bekah wrote in an article for The Mighty. “You wouldn’t know that behind this plastered smile is a girl who has broken and fallen to pieces. You wouldn’t know this girl had so much self-hate, she starved herself for over half her young life. Or that she’s tried to end her own life five times.”
Bekah was feeling particularly broken when she went to Starbucks one day to get some coffee. Her day had been filled with “a horrible doctor’s appointment and a horrible therapy session.”
“I was filled with hopelessness, and my suicidal thoughts were getting worse,” Bekah said.
When her anorexia is really bad, Bekah says the only thing she can consume is coffee. Even coffee seemed like too much that day, but she decided to get some anyway.
As she headed to Starbucks, she had no idea that one barista was about to change her life.
When Bekah got her drink she noticed that, instead of writing her name on the cup, the barista had written another word – smile.
“Maybe you wrote ‘smile’ on my drink because you saw the feeding tube. Or maybe you could see past my fake smile because you’ve been where I am,” Bekah wrote. “Either way, I’m grateful.”
“If I hadn’t encountered that cup, I could have done more damage to myself that night,” she continued. “When I read that word, I couldn’t help but smile, literally.”
Bekah may never know what prompted the barista to leave her that special note on that fateful day, but that one simple act changed her whole perspective and has inspired her to pass the kindness on.
“A simple act of kindness can mean the world to someone. It can provide hope for the hopeless,” she wrote. “Now I plan to pass this hope along. So barista, thank you. Thank you for turning my day around.”
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