Being Persistent

In my latest,  I've been asked to talk about persistence and how being persistent can pay off, even if it feels like it never will!

It's been a very busy year for me and Rosie, it has been an emotional roller coaster with many ups and downs, it's been difficult and also a whole lot of fun too! 

Nothing in life is easy, including moving 200 odd miles south to the capital city from a sleepy town on the outskirts of Burnley in Lancashire. Life is faster paced, people push and shove, people pack onto public transport with little regard for health and safety, people rarely thank the bus driver when they reach their destination! 

It's been a difficult time for Rosie, both mentally and physically. Even today life gets the better of her sometimes, and we have emotional breakdowns, this is from all aspects of life, present day-to-day challenges with dyspraxia, dyslexia, and Anxiety which sometimes has lead to depression and the fatigue and lack of energy as people with dyspraxia work 10x harder to do the things people take for granted. Rosie has been writing a lot of posts recently about emotional sensitivity and the links between that and dyspraxia to help others understand themselves better and for parents not to feel alone. Over time life has  started to get better, with the right help and support and a sprinkling of determination.

I keep telling her to remain positive, which I can appreciate is very difficult, but I personally feel that when life kicks you down and makes you feel like a complete fool, you need to do your best to remember the good times, remember the stuff you are good at, yes life isn't always positive at times but everyone is good at something, it doesn't matter how silly or stupid it is, but that is something that YOU are good at, its a positive thought to help you though the bad times! I keep telling Rosie to think of all the positive times we've had as a couple, the extra opportunities that the move to London has brought for her, plus of course how Mollie King from The Saturdays has helped her too!

I've said it in a previous blog, and I'll say it again, the modern world isn't dyspraxia friendly and there still is a lot of work to do for awareness. This is evident in the day-to-day anxiety's Rosie has and how low her self esteem and confidence can be difficult for her at times but she's getting there. There's all the sensory issues, crowds, unknown environments, and all the little things in life we all take for granted may be tricky for someone with dyspraxia even into adult life but she always has the determination and resilience to have a go and keep trying and the determination to prove people who have doubted her wrong.

Rosie is making steps herself, she is slowly realizing that she can help herself, and that she has a awful lot to offer this world. With support from myself, her very understanding boss at work who is dyslexic herself so understands different ways of thinking and seeing the world and support from others and the Dyspraxia Foundation she is realizing that despite being different, it's good to be different, and thinking outside that box really does have a multitude of benefits.

Obviously being 'different' often (sadly) brings its fair share of bullying. It's a said state of affairs that even in 2015, it still is happening- we are all different one day society might understand that. Bullying, in all its formats, shouldn't be tolerated, and people deal with it in a variety of ways. Rosie is now using what she was sadly subjected to, by turning it into positives, by sharing these feelings that she felt, others can feel less different, and can feel if they are experiencing similar someone might think  "that is me .. and if Rosie can get throught it, then I can too!' 60,000+ views on this blog is a testimony to how Rosie is taking a negative and turning it into major positives and helping so many people along the way! 

 I am extremely proud of what Rosie has achieved in the last 12 months. She's slowly adapting to a much faster lifestyle that you have in London - if you don't live in a major city it probably passes you buy - but life is a lot more demanding in major cities.  Rosie ran a 10k race in July, not everyone's cup of tea, and definitely not Rosie's but she managed to do it! Speaking in public is something that scares the majority of people, including myself, but Rosie is now a keen speaker at conferences even though it initially terrifies her, so much so in the comment forms for these conferences they ask to hear more from Rosie at more events and very gratefully accepted the Mary Colley award from the Dyspraxia Foundation.  She is speaking alongside Jessica Starns who is the founder of the Dyspraxic Me programme, at Dyspraxia Foundation Westminster.  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/living-and-learning-with-dyspraxia-with-rosie-edmondson-and-jessica-starns-tickets-18646304599

Rosie's determination does not let things get in her way, or hold her back. She's proven so many people wrong over the last year who told her to her face that she would never achieve anything, or get anywhere in life - this is a girl with not just a First Degree, but also a Masters Degree! 

Don't let anyone, or anything hold you back dyslexic, dyspraxic or not, no matter how nasty people are, take it as a push to prove them wrong! You are amazing, don't let anyone make you believe otherwise! Please never struggle in silence and seek help if you feel you need it, there are people who do understand out there, maybe not in easy reach, or by other formats such as social media groups but you are never alone. 

To help other Rosie's out there and their families, I will be running 4 10k races for Dyspraxia Foundation, and gulp be speaking alongside Rosie at Croydon Dyslexia Association about living with dyspraxia/dyslexia in adult life and strategies we use. 

https://www.justgiving.com/MattD10k2/