Turning a negative into a positive

A year ago today I left my family, my dog Toby and the small Lancashire town Burnley and moved in with my boyfriend and his family into city life in London. Whilst it hasn't been easy and times very overwhelming, it's given me the opportunity to do something I love which is help others. Since moving to London life has very much changed for the better and I'm so grateful for the opportunities which have been given to me.

If you're a regular reader of my blogs you will know about some of the past negative experiences of bullying and ignorance I have faced, even know some of them to this day are too painful to talk to and I'm still receiving help now to deal with the emotional consequences  of it. But it was in my darkest times and after seeing my mum and boyfriend in tears of worry about me and the negative thoughts I was having that I decided that I didn't want anyone else or their families to go through what I had. It made me determined to turn a very negative experience for me into something positive by helping others and raising awareness as I know there is still such a long way to go especially for dyspraxia awareness and understanding.

Day to day life with dyspraxia can be a struggle, but having a boss who is understanding towards me and sees the strengths but at the same time offering me encouragement about my dyspraxia/dyslexia has done me wonders and my mum has her smile back.

Last week I was lucky enough to attend the International Diversity Awards at the National History Museum as my good friend Sarah Chapman was up for an award for her Young Dyslexics campaign, Sarah had an awful experience growing up and is using it to inspire others and help raise awareness and make a difference. Normally I feel very anxious and overwhelmed in new environments but having someone with me who understood me and I felt a lot more confident, we also had a good giggle about how we were both glad the awards were opposite the hotel as otherwise we both would never had got there.

Over the evening we got to hear so many inspiring stories from the whole sector of diversity, and so many motivational speakers who talked about being that change, so many had experienced horrific experiences themselves and wanted to make something positive happen. It really put into perspective why I do what I do. I'm also lucky enough to speak to so many people who have experienced difficult situations but are now using it to help others, whenever I'm lacking in confidence or having a down moment it's things like that which really inspire me. Even though I still have a way to go to fully find my confidence and anxiety can make life tricky at times, I would hate to know someone out there is alone, upset or struggling in silence, and for that I will always keep fighting. This week coming is dyslexia awareness week and the week after dyspraxia awareness week, I hope by sharing my story and helping get the word out it helps generate awareness, you are never alone I promise.