For anyone who needs it, this is your reminder that even though it might not always feel like it, you are so much stronger than you think you are - you can get through whatever it is you are struggling with! Life’s challenges are totally unpredictable but no matter how impossible things may seem, there is always a reason to keep hope alive – maybe you just can’t see it yet.

Five years ago, I was in a relationship with someone I moved abroad for, to a country where I didn’t speak the language– not the smartest decision I’ve ever made, even if it was romantic!

After 3 years together I had this whole idea of what my future looked like, when suddenly I found myself single, jobless and moving back home to live with my parents. The direction I thought my life was going in was suddenly blown apart and I was forced to go back to the drawing board. Having moved back home, I then spent 2 years living in almost complete isolation. My mum had low immunity and my dad and I were terrified of giving her Covid, so we hid away. The internet and daily walks in the countryside were our only connection to the outside world. I never would have believed I could cope with all this, but I tried to stay positive, giving to charity, using my creativity to make people smile and turning to my faith.  Just when my mental health was at its worst, my mum got a sudden leukaemia diagnosis, then eventually died. I was with her when it happened and for months the trauma of her death haunted me.

I had lost the one person who understood me better than anyone else, but my mum had taught me to never give up on life, no matter how tough. Six months later, still grieving, my health suddenly got worse. Now I am disabled, living with my dad and my border collie in the UK.   At the time the breakup was hard, but in the long run it was exactly what I needed. If that relationship hadn’t ended, I never would have had the chance to strengthen my relationship with my parents and I would have missed out on spending those vital last years by my mum’s side! If I hadn’t gone through those years of isolation, I might never have appreciated life as much as I do now. And although I would do anything to bring my mum back, I am grateful for the close relationship I have with my father because of what we went through together. I’m so excited for the fun and friends the future is going to bring, life can only get better now!!:)  

Love and hugs,