I don't normally have self indulgent moments, but this blog post is all about me and without trying to induce collective sympathy, this blog serves as a bit of info about me and some of the things I've been through in my 35 years on this Earth.
I was born in 1980 in Guildford, the county city of Surrey and the third of a total of four children my parents had. I was 15 days late, but it meant I was born on the very day Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back was released, a fact, which as a Star Wars fan, I find very cool! Unfortunately, though my entrance into this world wasn't without it's problems, the birth went well, but due to unforeseen issues with the medication my mum was on, resulting in a lack of Folic Acid, I was born with various birth defects, which affected my childhood and meant several doctor and hospital visits throughout.
I'll point out that none of the defects are obvious now as, the only was that was obvious was remedied with three eye operations. Said issue was that I couldn't open my left eye, and finally after the third operation, performed at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London my Mr Collin, I could open and use my left eye. But unfortunately due to the length of time my eye was closed, the sight in my left eye is significantly worse than my right eye.
Other defects included Spina Bifida, which was a problem with my spine and weak hip muscles, which meant I wasn't able to work for a long time after what is normal and issues with weaker muscles around my mouth and jaw, causing issues with speech development. These issues resulted in visits to physio therapy and speech therapy sessions as a child, which thanks to the help I got and sheer determination, meant that I was finally able to walk and talk properly and unaided, and also meant I could do everything a normal able bodied person was able to do. My parents also showed determination, in the resistance from certain doctors who basically suggested that my lack of walking was because I was lazy, suggesting my mum should put me on the pavement with bare legs and crawling on the pavement would encourage me to get up and walk. If anyone reading my blog knows anything about Spina Bifida, they'd know that in most cases, people who suffer from it are wheelchair bound and no amount of physio therapy would help, but that's because they unfortunately suffer from a more sever version of it than I do. Anyone who wants to read up on it, can do so here: http://www.shinecharity.org.uk/spinabifida
In total, I had three eye operations to correct my left eye, when I was three, I had my tonsils and adenoids removed (I was eating chicken & chips the following day), I had an operation to fix my umbilical hernia (I had an outtie belly button) when I was six and when I was 12, I had two teeth removed. The other inpatient visit to a hospital I had was when I had meningitis when I was seven, which not only scared the hell out of me, but my parents and family as well.
Thanks to various issues, including learning difficulties, my parents struggled to get me into a main stream school. They obviously wanted to get me into the same school my sister and older brother were going to. They struggled to do so, but thanks to their determination, they managed it, but it also meant that teaching assistants who were good with special needs children were bought it to help out and did a very good job. Thanks to their help that I had throughout primary school, I was much more prepared for senior school when I went up in 1991. When I got up to senior school, I decided to stand on my own two feet and didn't ever seek out any help, despite still being on a special educational needs statement. And I was allowed an extra 25% time on my GCSE exams, which I didn't take on most of my exams, but did on one or two. I did my GCSE's in 1996, but because I didn't get enough high enough grades to get into the sixth form, I retook 5 GCSE's in 1997, when I did get enough high enough grades, but had already decided to go to college instead. Despite my issues, I've got 11 GCSE's including an A in IT, B in Maths, 4 C's and 5 D's, which I thought was quite good. And I have a National Diploma in Computer Studies.
Since leaving school, I've had three jobs, various positions at Sainsbury's, Security Officer for Carlisle Security (and subsequently Advance Security/Cordant Security thanks to them winning the Tesco contract I was working on at the time) and most recently I am a Personal Shopper at Ocado. All jobs, which while may not be the best jobs in the world, are all jobs that I couldn't do if it wasn't for the fact I've overcome issues I've had as a child.
On a more personal level, I've lived in Surrey until 1982, then lived in Essex until 2006, which is when I finally moved out of my parents house, aged 26, moving to Derbyshire, then thanks to getting in to debt (partly thanks to not being able to say no to my ex), I moved back to Essex in 2011 and then moved to Warwickshire in May this year, moving in with my current girlfriend after finally clearing my debts.
I might not conform to what a lot of people consider to be normal, I have long hair and a large beard (something which my ex hated). I listen to heavy metal music, and some lighter rock music, as you can probably tell from my previous blog post about the bands I've seen and want to see. I have always wanted to be my own person and haven't always been allowed to. It's not that I'm rebelling, I'm way past that, but if you can't be your own person and be happy in your own skin (and hair) then you'll never really be happy. If people don't accept you the way you want to be, then they might not be worth having in your life. Other interests in my life include Formula 1 and motor racing, Sci-Fi including but certainly not limited to Star Trek, Star Wars and Doctor Who. I used to go live action roleplaying (LARPing) which I really should look into getting back into. I have got into trains recently, and not just moaning about them. I've always liked cars, especially American Muscle Cars, although I do love classic and more modern British luxury cars and hot hatches.
Confidence has never been a thing of mine, especially when it comes to members of the opposite sex, I was a bit like Raj from The Big Bang Theory, although my confidence did start growing when I started regularly going out in 2002/2003 which was thanks, in no small part by my mate Jess, who reached out and invited me out to the pub and it all went from there. I've got a lot more female friends now and a lot more male friends for that matter.
I suppose the moral of the story is that if you work hard enough and show enough determination, you can get over almost anything and you can achieve anything. You can never let anyone else define who you are, you won't be you if you let others dictate who you are. I'd also like to give a very big thank you to my family for always supporting me through all the not so good times and for friends who have come along and helped support me and accepting me for who I am and been there for me.
