(A summary chapter written in inspiration of another professional surviving woman’s sincere question & quest to connect with congeniality – Thanks Hayley! xx ~ K )
I thrived on a wonderful childhood with a loving mother & father who tried to raise independent & confident daughters with open minds & respect to all others.
I thrived being raised with an alternative mindset & belief system that at the time was not publically accepted but is now referred to as ‘new age’ & ‘spiritual’ & has become a ‘business tool’ that sees a financially thriving industry called ‘health & wellness’
I survived my father leaving my mother for another woman (one of many) & a complete family breakdown in his absence & dysfunction.
I survived a suicidal mother who gave up on life as others gave up on her when she needed them most.
I survived being thrown out of home at the age of 13 because i would argue & fight with my mother about her addictions & violent despair.
I survived being classified a ‘Street Kid’ / Young Homeless Person from the age of 13 to 18 in a system that threatened to have us detained as juvenile delinquents in a detention centre for criminals if we did not do as we were told by the court & authorities – even when we had done nothing wrong or illegal.
I survived being a missing person because I did not agree to the stereotype that as a ‘young homeless person’ I was set to fail as a citizen in the general community due to my environment & those in it.
I survived being woken up in the middle of the night by junkies asking for cigarettes & the time.
I survived saying no to the hazardous lifestyles around me & choosing to be what they called ‘a loner’ & unenthusiastically given the title of ‘Top Dog’ to which i did not look for.
I survived 2 years of being court ordered to be assessed by psychologists & another 4 years by case workers, because that is how ‘the system’ worked.
I survived street wars & violent crowd fights in the northern suburbs of Melbourne
I thrived getting my 1st part time job even though i was under age
I survived finding out that my father was not my actual father & on meeting my natural family was treated like an outcast (to that i was, technically)
I thrived on making myself a home in a youth housing program that nurtured it’s ‘kids’ / tenants
I thrived being a management member of that program & contributing to the awareness of issues face by youth of the day.
I thrived at arguably the roughest multicultural High School in metro Melbourne to pass year 12 with A’s & B’s & spoke to a crowd of 500 as a student representative to welcome the new school name.
I survived being accepted in to university but did not survive being 3 hours away from my networks so i left.
I survived a car accident when i was 18 where the car spun down a cliff and a tree almost as big as the vehicle went straight through the passenger side and hit me. I walked away without a scratch but short-term memory loss for a day or so.
I thrived moving interstate & finding peace, sanctuary & 1st formal qualification, just to be requested to return to Melbourne on a call of duty by family who could not survive on their own.
I survived the state of Victoria rejecting my application to work in youth affairs regardless of my formal social welfare qualifications because i was under 21.
I survived unknowingly getting involved in an underground type association to which i had never experience such loyalty in my life.
I survived funerals where all those around me carried a gun & many in attendance were just there to make sure the dead was buried.
I survived 5 psych nurses pinning me to the ground & injecting me with high levels of stelazine trifluoperazine to stop me from fighting off their attack when i was called in for another ‘assessment’ and realised these were not normal everyday assessors. Because a ‘friend’ did not like who i was associated with, knew my history and made a phone call to the local mental services department who could not understand how someone of my history was ‘not’ depressed or self-destructive or on heavy synthetic drugs. But instead I was happy & doing the best with a life of experiences only few could imagine surviving.
I survived the doctors not being able to diagnose an illness when there was none but they tried for nearly 2 years filled with testing & toxic medication until they finally gave up looking for something that wasn’t there.
I survived losing ‘everything’ even when i had nothing materialistically to lose – just my freedom & independence.
I thrived rehabilitating myself in the disability industry by volunteering to care for those in worse circumstances such as people with MS & birth defects as the government agencies would send me to programs with people with severe brain damage because they didn’t know where else to put me.
I survived starting again & returning to my education & work.
I survived a relationship with a man who wanted to control everything i did & emotionally blackmailed my independence & strong urge to succeed & be free.
I thrived in labouring a child on my own and becoming a single mother to an amazing little boy.
I survived being diagnosed with CIN 3 cervical cancer & polycystic ovaries within 12 months of having my son.
I thrived extending my educational studies with my baby on my knee as i studied Business, Beauty Services, Information Technology & Vocational Training.
I thrived becoming a professional system administration manger & business woman
I thrived in being the school council president for 2 years & vice for 1 to see in electronic payment systems to stimulate receivable cash flow for a stuggling primary school.
I thrived on becoming the career mum & still being able to contribute to my son’s school as a parent helper when needed (which was often)
I thrived on learning martial arts spiritually & physically
I thrived on winning tournaments against those who were higher ranked
I thrived in grading with broken fingers & in 40 degree heat just so that i could grow
I thrive on jumping out of aeroplanes, riding BIG fast motorbikes, sitting by waterfalls, oceans & mountains in silence & anything else that helps make me feel naturally alive
I thrived on meeting the most amazing people in my journeys who became my teachers, mentors, friends & family both in business & personal development.
I thrive on grounding myself in a community who did not necessarily know me but accepted ‘us’ 12 years ago.
I thrived meeting & getting to know my biological family 3 years ago.
I survive being in debt after funding many treatments for my best friend’s cancer diagnosis & medical costs
I thrived in being formally trained as a trainer & speaker so I can inspire people to love learning & life.
I survived having to look in to my son’s father’s eyes after 11 years of walking away upon the tragic death of a past but close friend. Then 2 days later attending the hospital as my grandmother died surrounded by her children & grandchildren on the same day of that friend’s funeral late last September (2009)
We survived Christmas 2009 with heavy hearts but with love, smiles & family in abundance.
I survived heartbreak
I thrive in 2010 with the re-definition of my current business & current development of a new one in health & beauty services with retail so as we can be financially free & be able to support the wonderful programs that are currently running in our city as well to be able to ‘speak’ to groups that need professional people to present, but their funding is limited therefore often can’t afford to pay the standard fee of many professional speakers.
I thrive on meeting & networking with like-minded people who know that we can survive anything we put our minds to and create our dreams with determination, passion, self belief, compassion, attitude & the constant thirst for learning & sharing knowledge (but to mention a few – including Good Business & ethical standards!)
I thrive on being a good student, a passionate leader, an honest writer & an experienced business woman
I WILL SURVIVE AND THRIVE having to move house with a business deadline in the same span of time with noooo real finances or budget but with the most amazing friends & associates who help see my dream come true.
How do I know??
Because I’m possible, therefore nothing is impossible when there is determination, passion, love & respect is your life & career!!!
So thrive in the smile that you survive no matter what your story may be … and … NEVER NEVER give up if you know it is right and will inspire the strength in another!! xx ~ K
….to be continued
May 29, 2010
Categories: Community Support & Awareness . . Author: calkayt . Comments: Leave a Comment