This post really struck me and I would like to share my personal experience.
I actually had a lot in common with AJ as a college freshman: excellent student, recipient of two academic scholarships that covered everything but books and food (more on those in a second), accepted to the Honors program at my chosen school, and recipient of a small scholarship to run cross country and track & field (remember the books and food???
). I also had a girlfriend of two years, and I had chosen a local-ish school to be closer to her. From the outside, my life appeared to be completely on-track. Amazing, even.
However, I had never been away from home before, and though my home life was much more stable than AJ's appears to be, I did have some issues/conflict with my step-father. I enjoyed my involvement with athletics, but I quickly realized that I was very low on the totem pole regarding talent level, which was a rude awakening, having been one of the best runners on the team all four years of high school. The romantic relationship began to unravel soon after I started school and it was devastating to me. As the year progressed, I sank deeper and deeper into depression, my grades began to slip, and I ultimately left school after the first year to regroup after losing my academic scholarships.
The thing is: NO ONE (roommate, friends, family), had ANY idea what was going on. I kept it all to myself (my acting background sure helped in this regard!) and essentially had a breakdown during a New Year's Eve party that finally brought some of it to light. I didn't walk out of my life, but I wanted to and THOUGHT about it constantly, and just couldn't gather the courage to go through with it.
I say this because both the Sahray Barber case and the HTG case show us that sometimes people can and will simply walk away, with no explanation, and with seemingly little or no available resources, if they determine to do so, and when all other indicators seem to give them a reason to stay. We humans can be amazingly adept at hiding who we really are and how we really feel, if need be.
I am torn in this case. A part of me hopes that AJ simply could not stand her situation ONE MORE SECOND, walked off, and is taking time to re-discover herself and heal. However, a larger part of me is hesitant to get my hopes up, because most of the circumstances surrounding her disappearance don't bode well for her being ok.
Ultimately, I am a glass-half-full kind of guy, so I can't help but to keep that little glimmer of hope going. So, I'm praying for you, AJ! I hope you are out there, find this thread, and find your way home (wherever that may be....)!