Warning has been given, now lets do the intro - ish

Most of you who are reading this right now probably already know who I am.

I am Terri.

I am a mom of three beautiful children; Hannah who is 11, Isabelle who is 7 and my boy Beau who is 5.  They are pretty great kids, and for those who are parents, you will know, that no one teaches you more about yourself, or calls you out on your shit, like your own precious child/ren.  Blessings, honestly.

On top of being a mom, I am currently a student at MSVU doing my undergrad in Child and Youth Development with a concentration on mental health and children's rights advocacy.  I plan on going on to do my Masters and, hopefully, teach at the Mount, and implement some government programming for post-natal support and education regarding child development, from birth to 2 years.

So yes, I'm a mom, a student, a blogger (I use that term lightly, for now), mental health advocate...  Yes, mental health.  Fuck.  Ok, so my childhood wasn't a "normal" one.  Not even close.  In fact, I shouldn't be where I am.  I should probably be dead in a ditch or close to it.  Until I get comfortable writing about the details of my life, I will give you a coles notes version for now.

My mom was young, 19, when she had me, was briefly married to my dad, and divorced.  We lived with my grandparents, who were my constant, growing up and my brother was born a few months before my 8th birthday...  Seems pretty average?  Of course.  Not.  So mom had a few boyfriends here and there, things got a bit crazy in Jr High/High school with my home life, drugs, and somehow I made it to university right after I graduated High school, but couldn't finish.

Moving on, 21, I got pregnant with my oldest daughter and her father left the country for work.  For 5 years.  He came home, 2 kids and a house later we were anything but happy.  We were both working full time jobs and trying to raise a family.  It was so stressful, but "normal" for a young family I suppose?

Flash forward to 2016, the year I lost my mom and the father of my children and had to rebuild my life from ashes, and that's what has inspired me to write this blog.

This is my therapy, my virtual fuck you, and insight to all of YOU, so you know that when all is lost, it is not.  It is an opportunity,  a new beginning, a new chance.  Sometimes it's hard to keep that perspective, bring it back to the mental health aspect.

I live with ADHD and PTSD, I have also experienced anxiety, depression and postpartum. Not that anyone would ever know, because I'm always smiling and happy.  I want to bring it all out into the open, and set that free.

Everyone has something (illness, mental illness, some issue visible or not), or knows someone who does and if there were more support and understanding, maybe we can change how people think about it?  Be the change you want to see.  So here I am, being the change I want to see.

No judgement, no pointed fingers, no hate, no stigma.  Just acceptance, love, kindness and understanding that people are who they are for a reason and we are not in any position at any given time to make others, or ourselves, feel less of a person because of it.  No matter who we are, or where we come from.  So yeah, don't be a judgmental asshole, be kind.

So, very brief, because if I told you all the good stuff now, you wouldn't come back to read the rest? This is a summary, or some shitty narrative, of who I am and how I got here.  It'll give you some idea what you may be in for, or not.

Good night everyone,
Till tomorrow's opportunity,
Terri xo

Comments

  1. Terri I think your words are very inspirational and great to hear your advocacy of mental health. I am also and really believe the more we talk about mental health and educate others the more acceptable we all will be. You go girl.

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  2. Kudos to you for writing this and sharing your feelings with us. I can relate to a lot of what you're saying as I too have lost people in the past. And mental health was a big factor in it even though it's a part of my life I don't like to talk about.
    But I know sometimes it does help and by sharing your feelings I think you will grow stronger from it,and continue your journey to making a better life for yourself and your children. Keep up the great work you're an amazing lady!

    Jon

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  3. You are an inspiration. A tower of strength. I am so proud of you for standing up to mental health and sharing your struggles. You are a powerhouse and your children are so lucky that you made it to where you are now. I look forward to reading more. xoxo

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