A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS

So, I figured it was about time I introduced myself to you properly.

If you have read my “About “ section you probably already know the basics. My name is Latoya; I am 25 and live in little old Adelaide. Now I don’t want to give it all away at once so how about we start from the beginning? Sounds good. So here it goes, my series of unfortunate events…Kidding, well sort of.

I am one of 8 and yes before you say it I am shocked too! Now before I get into the juicy stuff I feel the need to say that I am not sharing this with you for any form of sympathy, the reason I have started this blog is because for an extended amount of time I have felt a little lost. This is my space to be brutally honest, to share my journey and to be the truest form of myself possible.

So here we go!

For me growing up was definitely not a walk in the park. My mother was an abusive alcoholic, well she still is but we can get to that later. As kids we were often forced to sleep with our dad in our old Tarago van at night. There would be 4 of us squeezed into what felt a lot like a shoebox (don’t worry, they decided to have 4 more kids after a 10 year break, we didn’t leave them inside with that bat shit cray woman!). All we wanted was some peace and quiet, to find a comfortable spot to fall asleep but all we could hear were words of abuse that normally lead to a knock on our door by the police. This continued on for many years so I guess I eventually thought that these occurrences were normal.

These nights often lead to physical abuse, I had my clothes torn off of my back, I was burnt with cigarettes and basically threatened with anything that my mum could get her hands on. It came to a stage where my dad even tried to hang himself in front of us in our backyard.

I don’t think I really realised how far from normal my upbringing was until I removed myself from the situation. This happened for me when I was 14 years of age, the day my grandfather was taken out of my life. My mother did not have a close relationship with her father but I did, in fact on the day that the accident happened I was supposed to be having a sleepover. This one incident is probably the one thing that impacted my life more than any other. On the 20th of May 2006 I witnessed my Grandad get hit by a car, it was honestly one of those gut wrenching moments where your instincts are telling you that something is going to go wrong. Sure enough it did. That moment scarred me for a very long time, for years that moment replayed in my head at night before I would go to sleep. Thankfully that is not the case anymore, miss you Grandad.

From the moment this happened my mother resented me and told me every day that it should have been me that died, eventually I believed it and sort of wished I were. This is when I decided it was time to move out of home, At age 15 I moved in with my Nan, Aunt and Uncle and for me this is where my life changed for the better. They taught me how to look after myself, I worked hard at school, I had a part time job as one of those mega babes at Maccas, I paid my own way, paid for the clothes on my back and even my school fees.

I learnt at a very young age that independence was important, I learnt that the only things in life that truly mattered could not be given, I needed to get myself.

I know the beginning for me may seem very dark but I want to use this platform as I place where I can show you that you can achieve anything that you set your mind to. You are beautiful (or handsome) you are smart, you are funny and you are absolutely FREAKING AMAZING regardless of how other people or situations make you feel.

For the longest time all I have wanted to do is to help others. I think along the way I have realised that I still need a little help myself too. So here’s to self-love, let’s find it together.

Love,

Latoya

xx