I’m seriously liking living “on my own”. For the first time ever, I feel slightly independent. I rely on the public transit system to get to school each day, and it’s my responsibility to clean up after myself, cook, and get on the bus on time. I’m even doing my own laundry, with a little instruction from my landlord; but her washer/drier is completely different from mine at home!

I am going to hand my resume in to a local group home which is quite literally down the road from where I’m living. The money is apparently good, and even if it’s not the best it’s still a familiar place and it’s still money coming in. I can start saving!

Yep, I think living on my own agrees with me! I have a feeling college is going to be stressful, but I know that I’m going to thoroughly enjoy it. This weekend I’m staying here so I can hang out with a couple new friends that I have made and go to a PowWow the local native’s are having for everyone to get a glimpse of their culture. It should be a really rewarding, interesting experience.

Recently I switched from Community Development to Community Development with an Emphasis on Aboriginals. I had my first class yesterday and it was full of promise for the upcoming year. I like the sound of things we will be doing.

On a completely different note, my friend Mandy (who also has MHE) will get to meet JK Rowling in NYC this year. I’m so envious! If only I had entered the contest with her! Except I think it was only for people in the United States. Oh well. Have fun for me Mandy!

I have stumbled across another blog, MY GIRL; a blog written by a mother for her daughter with MHE. This girl, named Daryl, is only going into grade eight and has already faced a lot of pretty heavy things. In October of 2006, she was hit by truck while crossing the road. On top of that, she just had surgery. Go send her some love. Take it from me, hearing messages from friends – or even kind words from strangers – after a surgery helps. Anita and Daryl are pretty new to the blogging world, so show them a warm welcome and show them how embarcing our online communties can be.

Finding people online blogging about the same thing as I do is always such a pleasure. It’s amazing having someone to relate to, to give advice to and receive advice from. It’s rather freshing. Truthfully, I sometimes feel so lonely and cut off from the world.

My feelings on MHE go either way; some days I embrace being different, other days I hate it and all I want is to fit into society’s idea of “normal”. I don’t want to have to think about doctor appointments, worry about troublesome bones, and feel tired all the time. I do have a message for every single person with MHE or any other kind of disorder, and that is this;

Some days we need to break down, just to pick ourselves up again. It’s good to cry and get out all that frustration and anger. Keeping it bottled up inside will eventually lead to worser problems. If you feel like your standing on the edge of a cliff with nobody there beside you, talk to someone. Vent a little. Buy a journal or diary, or even start a blog. It helps. It helps to cry, it helps to laugh. Accept who you are and accept the fact that nobody is perfect, we all have our problems in life and we’re all [truthfully] a little crazy. 

I know it’s harder said then done. I’m the sort of person to give out really good advice and when the time comes, not follow it. I will know what I should do but be unable to for some reason. I try though, and that’s the truth. I’ll be trying for the rest of my life, but thats ok. I know that there are good and bad things in everybody’s lives!

So Daryl, I hope you are recovering fast from the surgery you had on July 12th. I hope all went well. I know sometimes MHE can be rough on you, especially in high school – when it feels like everything is rough and totally unfair. But stick in there!