I started going full time at my writing back in 2015 and this was one of my first characters. He gets muddled up. He gets a bit confused. He doesn't really understand a lot of stuff, but he's very lovable. He is very friendly, cheerful and I guess it’s just about wanting all children to celebrate their uniqueness. It's probably where I'm at my happiest.
I was kind of channelling that young child that never wanted to grow up, that child when he was five or six who was really happy, really content, surrounded by a loving family. But then the reality of school and other children enter into your life and like a lot of people I was bullied really badly at school. You know, showing that sensitivity, that kind of vulnerability wasn't cool, wasn't something that was going to play out well, so of course you get increasingly picked on and you start to hide those things that you loved about yourself.
I just retreated into my shell and that continued into university and teacher training college. It coincided with a very unhappy marriage, a relationship where, looking back, I was never actually able to be who I am. I've come out the other side. I'm not going to make that same mistake. I'm going to allow someone into my life and I feel so thankful that person is Hannah.
I'm now comfortable and confident in my skin. Keep being inquisitive, keeping joyful and yeah, look for the best in life. Looking for the best in people, looking for the best in situations and making someone smile each day. I guess it is just kindness.There is something beautiful about that two, three, four in the morning time where suddenly the mind is able to put fragments together into something new and different. The great thing about something created like this is they're not tarnished by the world, they remain that optimistic, hopeful representation of how you'd like life to be. My mum always reminds me, that this is about confidence and I struggle so much with it. So, I keep going back to my own words in my own work. To teach myself how I should be. It's kind of a full circle.
It's that joyfulness of life. As an adult, why should we lose all of that? Why should we?
