Blog Every Day In May Day One: The Story of My Life in 250 Words

Yesterday when I was catching up on blog posts in my reading list, I heard about Story of My Life's blogging challenge for May; 'Blog Every Day in May'. This is a challenge to motivate us to do just that; blog every day in May, and I've decided to rise to the challenge. 

Every day has a set prompt, and the topics should hopefully enable me to share a little bit more about myself with you, as they're all quite personal subjects. I'll still be blogging my usual OOTDs, nail art, wish lists, inspiration posts etc; I'll just be supplementing my usual content with challenge posts. Anybody can take part in the challenge, and you can find out more about it here.

So, today is day one and today's topic is 'The story of my life in 250 words or less'. It'll probably be more than 250 words, but here goes...

Outside the house from I Am Legend in New York in August 2011; a month before I injured myself.

I was born in Oxford in July 1985, and grew up in a small town in Oxfordshire on the edge of the countryside with my parents, and two sisters- one older, one younger. We spent our childhoods mostly playing and exploring outdoors, with annual holidays to Cornwall, and regular trips to the beach each Summer. I was bought up Catholic and attended a Catholic primary school, but it was a faith I never adopted and showed little interest in. Sorry, Dad. It just wasn't for me.

I was a painfully shy kid/teen, and terribly self-conscious of my body since I was tall, and developed early... which I translated as fat. I always felt like the fat girl. And I wasn't back then. I was embarrassed and ashamed of my body, and had zero confidence in myself. Qualities which shaped and affected my entire life up to this point.

I met my best friend at school aged eleven, and we bonded over a shared infatuation with Irish pop band Boyzone. We'd spend most of our spare time listening to their music, going to a couple of concerts, and all the things fan girls do. Even though our musical tastes have evolved hugely since then, we're still best friends, and we still go to their concerts together today.

I left school with ten GCSEs, and spent two years studying for a National Diploma in Animal Care at college. I got my first job working in a pet shop, and when I finished college, I chose not to go to Uni at the last minute. I've regretted it ever since. The next eight years or so are mostly a blur. I suffered badly with depression from age eighteen, and there were a lot of dark years which I wasted hating myself, and not living life to the full. I worked full time with pets, and then, for the same employer, visual merchandising Children's toys and clothes. I was working myself down in to the ground, and eventually injured my spine somewhere along the way in September 2011... which put my entire life in to perspective, and seemed to snap me out of the darkness. I wasted so many years of my life which I can never get back and regret so much, but I'm thankful I injured my back, even though I'm living a life on hiatus in constant pain, because it's made me determined never to waste my life again. I'm not going to let my story end here.