This Little Girl Is Me

#thislittlegirlisme

I want to start off by sharing that this makes me feel very vulnerable but not to the point that it is affecting my mental health... just for anyone else who may want to share but unsure about it. I don't feel like my story is worth telling but I know that I find other people's stories fascinating so here goes:

She is about 4 years old here. Her dad is Chinese and her mum is English and she has a younger sister who is about 2. They live together in a small town in England. She is being brought up in a strict religion which tells her that she can't have friends outside the religion but she doesn't mind because she has her family and friends in the religion.

She knows that she has to be quiet, she has to be obedient to those in higher authority, she cannot challenge anyone, she cannot think for herself, she won't be but she should always strive for perfection. She will be a disappointment to her parents and to God, if she is anything different. She doesn't mind though because she trusts her parents to be doing the right thing and to look out for her.

She looks so happy here and it breaks my heart to know the various challenges that she will have to face. It breaks my heart that her mum leaves when she is 6, that her mum will come back when she is 11 but her dad is left alone so moves back to Hong Kong, and that her best friend will die of cancer when she is 17.

But I also know that she has a strength that she cannot see (and sometimes still forgets about).

This strength results in her leaving a cult of a religion at 19 despite the consequence that she can no longer speak to her sister, her mum, other family members and all her friends that she grew up with. It also meant that she was kicked out of her house at 19.

This strength results in her working and studying at the same time for 4 years till she graduates and finds her passion.

This strength results in her mutually ending a 7 year relationship and engagement because it wasn't making either of them happy anymore.

This strength results in her quitting her job, selling her house and moving halfway across the world to Hong Kong.

She is now surrounded by people that love her for being the loud, confident, outspoken girl that she has always known that she is. She works hard, she plays hard; she does what she believes is the right thing to do. She has a distorted negative view of herself and sometimes it becomes too much for her to handle. But that's when she talks to one of her many people that have proven they will love her even when she is not the happy, crazily energetic girl she normally is. It is okay to show that you are struggling.

Why am I sharing my story with you?

Because 70% of girls feel more confident about their futures after hearing from women role models. This #littlegirlisme campaign initiated by Inspiring Girls International to mark International Day of the Girl on October 11, 2021

Join us in sharing your journey

#mentalhealth #internationaldayofthegirl