Hello, my name is Isabella. I'm a third-year student at Opportunity University. I major in law and justice and minor in Spanish and political science. I'm originally from Ecuador. I was born there and came here when I was around two years old. You could say I'm a bit shy at times, but when you get to know me, I'm enthusiastic. I like to be around people when I'm open with them. For fun, I like to work out and watch movies with my boyfriend, Jacob. Post graduation, I want to eventually become a lawyer, and work for the prosecutor's office. I'm not exactly sure what type of attorney I want to be, so I’m still looking into that.

During school, I would bring snacks on the side that my dad would give me, or I would go around the corner and get something. Just eating behind her back made me very anxious. It built up over time because my mom's still that way today. We don't really eat, I guess. So when I see food, like snacks, I just indulge in it. It's always been a struggle because I've been trying to control it, but recently, my weight has been fluctuating. My mom kind of shamed me about it, which made me feel bad about it throughout the years. I always felt so insecure. I looked for attention from other people, but I feel like it wasn't enough. So I snack constantly whenever I get the chance, but I do try to work out. It's just when I get stressed, it gets bad because I get anxious, and I eat. 

I don't feel secure with the clothing I wear because my mom always told me, "Oh, you look fat" or, "Oh, that does not look good on you." So, I stopped wearing certain clothes, and that kind of branched into college. I feel like it got even worse through college. So, I wear baggy sweaters and baggy sweatpants more, but I've been trying to get better because of Jacob. He does help me. He constantly reassures me. He's like, "Oh yeah, you look beautiful. You look pretty. Like that looks good on you." So I've been trying to balance it out and wear stuff that makes me feel good. 

I constantly have it in the back of my mind that I'm gonna gain weight, so I try to stay away from snacking. Recently I've been doing that, so I just have it in the back of my head like, “Oh, I can't eat this.” So sometimes I just won't eat because I'm like, “I have to lose weight.” In the back of my mind, I know it's not good to be skipping meals. That's why when I do remember those days, I try to eat a balanced diet throughout the day and work out. But realistically speaking, it weighs more on me that I'm gonna weigh more, that I'm heavier, that I'm gonna be fat. And for me, I guess the easy way out is sometimes skipping meals, even though that's hard to say.

The first time I used the University Pantry was actually at the beginning of the semester because I started coming here in September. I went because, I guess, my mom forgot to get me a couple of things. I just went to get some eggs and some meat, and it was actually pretty good! They had more than I expected, and I could get more stuff than I thought I would get. So I just filled my bag with the stuff I needed, and it actually did help me a lot. I got some meat—bologna—and some canned greens, like green beans. That was about it for what I got for the first time. I could only carry a little because I was by myself and only brought one bag. I don’t go as often as I'd like, just because I have a 9:30 class, so I don't really have time to go, but when I do have those days off, I go.