I'd like to start this post by apologising for my absence from BlogSpot over the last couple of months. It's true that I have been really busy but, in all honesty, my reason for not posting is simply that I have not had the motivation to do so, or the creativity to choose what to write about. Sometimes, I go through periods where I suddenly have a mental block and no idea what to put on the page. I have watched 3 great films over this time ('Belle', 'If I Stay' and 'The Rewrite' if anyone's interested!) and read two fab books ('One Million Lovely Letters' and 'Great Expectations') but, despite attempting reviews on several occasions, the words have been refusing to form. I guess that's what they call 'writer's block'. Ah well, the title of this post fits nicely into the situation anyway, as forcing myself to put my phone down and my writing head on is not only good for me, but also a classic example of breaking through a barrier...
The main inspiration behind this post is an event which happened last week. Since starting my final year at school, I have begun my own appeal for a charity called 'The Anaphylaxis Campaign' who provide support for people like me with severe allergies (maybe I'll go into more detail about that in another post!). Any way, as part of the appeal, I decided to do a sponsored swim to raise funds for this amazing charity's work, and chose to swim the distance of the English channel in my local pool over a week. Well, in 6 days I managed all 22 miles which is 1416 lengths! I was proud and I was relieved.
However, it wasn't just the fact that I completed the swim that struck a chord with me, but the fact that I believed that I could do it and the fact that I didn't allow obstacles I faced to deter me from my path. It seemed like a daunting challenge and, recently, I've had some difficulty with self esteem and self belief but somewhere inside me I knew I could do this and so I did. It also caused me a lot of physical pain, particularly as my skin reacted badly to the chlorine and I felt a mess. But I picked myself up from that low point and completed the swim, because people were relying on me doing so.
My swim has reminded me that it is possible to break barriers in life, whether those barriers are cause by yourself, your peers or society. If you truly want to do something, I'm not saying that means it will just happen and all be dandy, because that's not the case. But, with an apology for this paragraph seeming cliché, hard work totally pays off and the vast majority of goals are achievable if you're willing to make sacrifices. I've had a lot of self-doubt about whether or not I am capable of passing my driving test next week, for example, but knowing that I have proven that I have the capability to break barriers injects a little extra confidence in me.
So, amongst my rambling I hope you find some advice! If anyone would like to check out my charity appeal Facebook page and give it a like and share that would mean a lot! Just click here!
And if anyone would like to make a sponsorship donation (even just £1!) that would put a massive smile on my face! Just visit my Justgiving page: www.justgiving.com/catriona-aitken
I promise (mostly to myself!) to post again soon. All comments appreciated below.
Catriona xx
