So news... I turned 21! I got my first tattoo, I booked a trip to London/Europe for mid year, and I am in my final year of uni (my Bachelor at least... I'm still planning on doing my PHD). And finally -- and most exciting of all, my book Skin and Bones has finally been released as a hard copy! It will be available online on Amazon, in certain bookstores in America and available through the library (also in America). I want to thank everyone who purchased to e-book copy of Skin and Bones! I really, really do appreciate it, because that story was obviously a very difficult and personal one to write, and I am really happy that I got to share it with some of you guys -- the people that gave me the confidence to write in the first place. If you want a link to the hard copy book just comment here or ask me, but I don't want to shamelessly promote my own book because that's not the point of this blog!
I really do miss Mibba. It has a really special place in my heart. When I first signed up I was a fourteen year-old girl recovering from anorexia and struggling with social skills and self esteem, and over the years the people that I met on here and the feedback that I received on my stories helped shape me into a person who is able to put herself out there more easily. I still have an awful self esteem and am slightly shy, but that fourteen year old girl was so ashamed of herself that she pushed away any friend that she ever had, and this twenty-one year old version has the strength not to do that. My first attempts at writing were terrible, but I don't regret them or cringe when I read them, because writers have to start somewhere, and this place was the best place for me to get that start. People have left and things have changed and I think people forget sometimes how important it is to have a place to come and share a part of ourselves on -- whichever part of ourselves we choose to, and have a receptive audience of anonymous people from all over the world encouraging us to be ourselves and do what we love doing. It isn't always obvious, but the 'Keep writing!' comments, the thoughtful messages left on blogs, and the fact that we all share that one love -- the love of reading and writing, is really quite special.
I hope that you are all doing fantastically! Whether you're doing fantastically or are having a hard time, feel free to talk to me, because even though it might take me a while to reply, it will always be because I'm busy and never because I don't have time for someone. This site has helped me grow as a person, has given me a thread of confidence when I had none, and has allowed me to be more okay with being myself. Sometimes it's nice to get away from real life, and that's totally okay. I wish I could get away from it more!
I'm going to leave this blog with a few photos as an update of my life! I hope you're all well and still writing and still being awesome, and I miss you all! I hope to be back here soon!
my special little boy passed away.
my snazzy Christmas glasses
receiving my hard copy in the mail!
my birthday tattoo (:
my absolutely incredible birthday cake (ignore the misspelt name!)
me on my 21st