Family and Friends

My mum had this habit of telling the same story 100 times, especially as she got older.

Now that she is no longer with us, I would give anything to hear each of those stories that 101st time.

Appreciate the people in your life that you care about because they won't be with you forever and when they're gone they will take a piece of you with them that you can never get back.

Lessons Learnt

Nothing can break your heart and your spirit like feeling unwanted, make you feel more alone than thinking you are unloved.

Don't let the people you care about forget how important they are.

Lessons learnt....

This week has taught me some lessons, the kind that only life can teach you.

I don't always have to be strong, the tough one who stays together.

It's not a sign of weakness to embrace my vulnerability, to allow myself to grieve, to show my pain.

Tears aren't something to be ashamed of, they show our joy, our sadness and the depth of our love.

Yes, this week has taught me a lot of lessons about myself and who I thought I was.

Mental illness

Mental illness is something that needs to be talked about more. There still seems to be huge stigma attached to it and I think with information comes understanding and acceptance.

The more we know, the more we can remove the mystery and see that in the majority of cases, sufferers are just people who, while needing a little extra support, just want to be treated like everyone else.

The toll on the family and friends of someone suffering from a mental illness can be huge. By engaging in conversation, we can also help lift the burden on these people.

I think by opening up and sharing our stories, we can change perceptions and help remove the prejudices that exist.

Other peoples opinion

For too long I've let other peoples negative opinion of me influence my own self image.

I've slowly realised, fuck that shit, I'm awesome....