Who the hell are you and why should I read your blog?
Jessica's the name!
You may be wondering why I've decided to set up this blog right? So let me tell you about me, my background and my past experiences.
Single Mum?
I was brought up by my single mum, until I moved into my nans due to ongoing circumstances (my mum went through a pretty hard time). I wouldn't say I was a difficult child, I loved school and always enjoyed going out with my friends (we wont go into the details, I mean I'm sure every teenage girl is the same, right?). Let's cut to the interesting bits, I dropped out of school at 16 and fell pregnant with my son (now almost 7) at just 19 years old, and everyone told me my the usual "your life is over" rubbish. Looking back now, I do have mixed feelings, I mean, I absolutely love being a mum, having someone to share my life with, and just having someone rely on you and look up to you regardless is a feeling like no other. But, equally there have been times when I have felt like perhaps I would've been able to have given him more if I had built a life first. Saying this, I brought my first home at 20 years old and he has always had a secure upbringing so I guess we always put ourselves down for things that aren't necessarily true? I most definitely wouldn't be doing this if he hadn't blessed my life all those years ago, so everything truly does happen for a reason and in a sense he has brought me clarity and taught me what love really means.
What's the career saying?
So, single mum (yes, again I had so many people saying "oh single mum? that's your career over - annoying little fuckers aren't they those people?). When Olly was 6 months old, I found myself in a bit of a rut, I was totally unsure what I wanted to do, and equally had this little man relying on me to provide him with everything he needed both emotionally and physically. This is when I decided to join the Open University. Now, considering I dropped out of my A Levels just a month into them, I went on to complete a Higher Educational Diploma and then my Bachelor's degree in Childhood and Youth Studies in 2019. During this time, I worked many jobs, from room manger to deputy manger in pre-schools, to a Family Support Worker role at HMP Woodhill, to a Children's Residential Worker in a Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Home before onto settling in supporting Young people's Mental Health. I absolutely love my current role, I feel I have purpose, not only that but it's taught me some very valuable lessons in life. Whether this be in relationships, friendships, my career, my life as a mother and most importantly, the relationship I have with myself.
Enough of the past - what you doin' now?
In 2019, I made the jump to my Master's of Science degree in Psychology with the University of Derby (you at this point must be thinking, "what on earth did she do that for?" believe me when I say every time I have an assignment I too ask myself over and over whilst working my way through a box of tissues and a bottle of wine). See, when I had my son, I watched him grow, I watched him 'evolve' from a tiny little nugget that barely moved and made many a scream to this loving, positive, charming boy and this is when it made me realise, life is about learning, about empathising, about not watching your life go past but essentially "grabbing it by the balls and praying with every inch of you that it goes right".
And this brings me right to this blog. My interest in Mental Health stems from my mum's experiences, she's battled for years with Bipolar and Personality Disorder, and I've always been so intrigued with how the mind works. Working at HMP Woodhill, brought about my interest in personalities, emotional intelligence and upbringing. My whole professional and study career has brought me to this very point, the point of being intrigued, the point of wanting explanation, of wanting to understand other people... and actually, my passion to help, empathise, be a listening ear, provide advice. This may not make a huge difference to many, but if someone reads my posts and genuinely feels a sense of similarity, as if their not alone in how their feeling, or someone decides to reach out... that makes it all very worthwhile to me.
Another of my passions, is equality, in particular gender equality. (Yup, I'm one of those irritating drunk girls that will jump into any conversation where a woman is being degraded and I'm not afraid to publicly discuss the "sensitive" topics in public). I want to tell my friends about the current stage of my cycle in the pub over a glass of wine? I will. I'll also call out a female if I see them humiliating another, this to me is the worst kind of person (we will come onto this in another blog post...)
So yes, that's me! My friends would probably describe me as the 'crazy one', I'm pretty loyal with a loud mouth and will always back them. But equally, I can be the total opposite and this blog is also about learning to listen to the inner you, accept with your might that you can't change who you are, but what you can do is embrace it.
If you're still reading then I salute you, either that or your a friend or family and I've told you to read it (yes mum, I mean you).
Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Love yourself always, and keep looking forward.
Jess x