Overcoming more in high school than most do in their lifetime, Morgan Goetz is a fighter.
Her fight began when she started high school soccer after her eighth grade year. Routine soccer practice turned into an over-exercising obsession and healthy eating turned into restricting fats, then sugars, and eventually evolved into malnourishment.
“I wanted perfection,” Morgan said. “The perfect body, perfect grades…”
Morgan became so thin that her family feared for her health. She was referred to nutritional therapy and counseling. It was determined that she needed inpatient treatment and she spent 29 days in the hospital.
“I felt lonely and depressed,” Morgan said. “I had anger issues toward others and myself.”
But her treatment worked. After a month in the hospital Morgan was released and eventually returned to school.
“It was scary and challenging going back to school,” Morgan said. “I had to make friends again. I had pushed them away before and now I needed their support.”
Now, Morgan uses her experience to help others. Morgan joined SCRUBS (Students Creating Respect Using Better Solutions), a club at her school that advocates better decisions. She is now president of the club and regularly speaks to other students about her eating disorder. She often quotes, “Size zero is not a size,” and
“Eating disorders are not a fashion statement, but a disease.”
With her life finally back on track, Morgan was flourishing. Then, last October, the day before her birthday, Morgan wrecked her car. She was driving her mother’s car, one she was not accustomed to. She overcorrected the vehicle, causing it to flip. Emergency workers responded and were forced to cut Morgan from the car.
“My seat belt saved my life,” Morgan said.
Morgan has returned to finish her senior year, but not without a new passion. She has implemented bi-weekly seat belt checks through SCRUBS and has implemented a pledge at her school to prevent distracted driving which includes no cell phone usage while driving.
This young lady has survived a lot in her lifetime. And she is using her experiences to help others. When she begins college this fall she hopes to major in dietetics and psychology, hoping to one day work in an eating disorder facility.
“Things happen to you,” Morgan said, “but you learn from them.”