The things that drive me most in life, are my passion for what I do, my love of family and friends, the desire to travel and make my life one long series of adventures, whether it be climbing mountains, chasing in the footsteps of my favourite artists, visiting my second home of London, walking across countries or the simple little things that make me smile like a walk with my dog Miss Molly. My motto for life, ‘Let your smile change the world, but don’t let the world change your smile’.
The purpose and driving force behind this website, is to assist others in overcoming fears, past traumas just as I have, through being creative and to hopefully assist others to ‘speak out even when their voice shakes’ through sharing my own personal daily battles and accomplishments. ‘To shine light on a dark subject and fan the flames of hope’.
I am a woman who has personally experienced many traumas throughout my life, beginning first in early childhood. According to statistics with my ACE score I am predisposed 6000 times more than others to abuse substances, I am also 1000 times more likely to take my life. Statistics will also tell you that I was doomed to failure. I am not a statistic.
Luckily for me, I was raised oblivious to statistics and only encountered them in my university years. I should never have made it to university, I should never have completed high school, however I accomplished both, albeit later in life. Failure was never in my vocabulary. I believe it’s never too late to begin living your dream.
My dream began when I completed Year 12 at the age of 30, a mother to four small children. I began university by distance education at the age of 39, a foster mother of many and mother of teens still at home. I have taught young people since 2005 and I completed my final online university degree in 2019, while raising a grandchild with severe mental health problems, working full-time and recovering from major surgery.
I’ve gone on to become a qualified Art Therapist and Clinical Art Therapist. I am driven to be a life-long learner, and an adventurer who challenges herself daily.
Nothing compares though, to that of the school of life, my experiences that shaped me into a resilient fighter who cares deeply, sometimes too deeply about the rights of others to be heard…I am passionate about bringing the much-needed change to teen mental health issues, prevention of suicide and to provide early intervention in the early years in a gentle, non-intrusive but effective way.
