I understand that a big part of Real World is having other people make judgments on you and come up with their own theories as to who the people are or why they are the way they are. However, after reading a lot of posts on here about Paula I became really heated. I used to go to school(Quinnipiac) with Paula, I was actually a year younger then her. She dated one of my friends so I had the pleasure of getting to know her. Eventually Paula and my friend broke up, then Paula's Sr year she moved off campus(Srs had to move off campus, and utimately only come back on for classes) so i completely lost touch with her. As I watched the first episode of this seasons Real World I flipped when I saw her, I then contacted some friends who still are in touch wiht her and got the 411 on what happened to her since college. So for all you people with your theories...I'll clue you in on Paula...who she is, and why she is the way she is now...

First of all in terms of body image...Paula had a great body, she was healthy looking and in shape, and had a bigger nicer rack. She was this spunky girl with a strong personality. She also had it all together, and did not care what people thought about her, she was who she was, and she was genuine thats all she cared about. She was also a natural leader, and people gravitated towards her. Every guy that knew her pretty much had a crush on her because of all that. She was just an amazing person. At that time she didn't have an eating disorder or any of the issues she has now.

So seeing her on the Real World I was shocked....she lost A LOT of weight, and then watching her break down again I was shocked...she was never like that. After talking to my friends I found out that since graduating from college she had a boyfriend that was abusive in every sense of the matter, he beat her, verbally abused her, and mentally abused her...because of that she started to think negatively of herself and she developed the eating disorder as a way to feel in control of something. Eventually the inevitable had happened and their relationship ended, and slowly the "old paula" started to pop back out with the support of her friends and fam. ultimately she decided to do the real world not for attention or any motive other then to get away from everything...try to start fresh and try something new with new people. As you can see on the show one second she is cool calm and put together, and then all of the sudden bam she is a mess...now you guys can see why...she is a great person but after dealing with a long term abusive relationship she has a lot of confidence issues she has to regain, and she has to lose the eating disorder habit, but at this point one can understand why it would be hard...For a long time that was her only sense of control and thats all she knows, and getting rid of that is getting rid of her comfort zone and security. She is aware it is unhealthy and it needs to change but she will need the help to get her to let go of it.

I'm trying not to ruin the season for you guys and spoil how it turns out so I wont elaborate anymore...but I just thought u guys should know about paula before you start to bash her, or come up with your theories or far fetched opinions as to why she is the way she is