The year was 2011, in the midst of a summer hot enough to melt the paint off your car. Each day the sun sat perched on the endless blanket of blue, blazing in fiery glory. Pools were filled and ice cream was served, each a desperate attempt to beat the heat. All the people in Solano Beach, California looked forward to this time of year. It was a chance for local residents to show off the toned, slim bodies they worked so hard to achieve after the holidays. Almost everyone walked around with pearly smiles on their faces, proud of their physical accomplishments. That is, everyone except Tamara Brook. Tamara wasn't one of those teenagers who chased shoe sales and spent weekends in mall boutiques. It wasn't because he didn't want to, but because he felt he couldn't. All her life she had been the victim of people squeezing her cheeks and patting her belly, telling her she needed to "go on a diet" or "run more." But Tamara was a very active girl, she played soccer, softball and karate. She has set a personal goal to work twice as hard as her teammates when running, kicking and jumping, all with great strength and zeal. But its size never seemed to diminish. She felt frustrated when her plans didn't go the way she wanted. She had never achieved the feminine and petite appearance of her peers and this made her angry. When Tamara turned sixteen, she chose to take drastic measures. All of her friends could fit into those dainty bikinis that she so desperately wanted to wear. She was tired of feeling ugly. Since her body didn't want to cooperate with her, she decided to force it. Tamara searched the medicine aisles at all the local stores, buying every diet pill she could get her hands on. Sh......middle of paper......I don't even have the strength to argue; he knew his mother knew what was going on. “We could have gone to the gym together,” he continued. "Or your father and I could have established a diet plan for you. It wasn't safe, Tamara. Why did you choose this path? Why didn't you say something?" she asked tearfully. "I wanted to be nice," Tamara muttered. "I wanted to feel beautiful." Her mother looked at her. "Tamara, you have always been beautiful. Being thin and wearing small clothes is not what constitutes or defines your beauty, darling. It is our hearts, our inner spirit that make us beautiful," Lindsay explained with a small smile. Honestly, Tamara had never thought about it, and when she thought about it, her looks weren't worth losing her life for. From that moment on, Tamara decided to show her beauty from the inside, regardless of whether she could wear a bikini or not!