Hello there! I’m a 27 year old city girl living in the country – I am the wife of a farm hand and mum of a gorgeous boy. We live on a rural property in southern-central Queensland, and I’m currently a half-time stay-at-home mum, and a half-time hairdresser in our small town.
I started this blog to share my story, to let others know they are never alone, and to hopefully encourage and inspire others. When I began this blog, I innocently wrote ‘I’ve had my fair share of ups and downs through life, and yet I feel as though life is only just beginning’. I could not have been more right, although that ‘fair share’ really was just the beginning.
Here is a little of my story – I have been a Christian for my entire life, yet only fully committed to the Lord as a teenager. I have struggled for many years with crippling depression and severe anxiety. After seeking help in 2017, I was treated for depression and anxiety until mid-late 2021 when I was hospitalised for being ‘acutely suicidal’. After changes of medications, hours of telehealth conferences with various mental health specialists, and nearly two weeks in hospital, I was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. I had heard of BPD before, but only associated it with ‘extreme’ cases. But the time in hospital really put things into perspective and I woke up to the fact I was indeed an ‘extreme case’, and there was no way out but forward. When I was discharged from hospital, I went home and with the help of my support people, learned more about BPD and what I could do to move forward. I found a new therapist. I prioritised the right things. And now but by the good grace of God go I; moving, learning, growing, changing. Instead of looking at my illness as a disorder, my therapist taught me to look at it as being ‘on the cusp of personality creation’. I was given a clean slate to learn who I really am, and to grow and develop my individuality, and I have embraced that. Finding solace in art and poetry, I am exploring different realms of art and literature. Art has given me a new means of expression which is beautifully freeing, and books have the magic of either drawing you into them, or drawing you out of yourself and out of the world.
Rediscovering my new love of words and books a few years ago, I picked up studying again and began a Bachelor of Liberal Arts, and really loved it. I did a subject on books, and we learnt to hand-make books, and also how to create content for books. One of my assessments was to hand make a book and then to fill it. I had no idea what it would end up being for me – what started as a basic uni project turned into my first published book! You can now purchase that online here. This book, “Kiya’s Journal”, is very poignant with it’s some subtle and some not-so-subtle points toward bullying, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and suicide, all in young people. I believe that depression is our generation’s epidemic, and if we don’t do something soon, it will take more precious lives. I hope that this can help someone not feel so alone, help someone else see signs in their loved ones, and help someone else understand what a loved one might be going through. Remember, you are not alone.
I am very excited to write more stories, both fiction and non-fiction, and I look forward to you being on that journey with me.
Thank you for joining me here as we simply do life together.
Julie xo