hello from serra

hello! im serra, i live in new zealand and i dont bother to use capital letters or much punctuation. i am sorry to the people that bothers but it is just part of me. i am also a social worker, a photographer, a wife and a cat mother. i love red things, i love my cherry docs, butterflies and watching the ocean. i am also recovering and that is how i landed here on fridays.

its hard to know where to start, what to even think about when so many of my fellow kiwis are suffering. the devastating earthquake on february 22 in christchurch really brings some perspective to things. why do i sit here fretting over not getting in a work out when there are thousands of people near me who have lost their homes, their livelihoods and for up to 200 (the figure is not yet known but it is over 100 so far) their lives... there are more important things...

in my recovery i reached that point where other things just became too damn important. for a long time i had said yep sure enough is enough, time to change... but i didnt actually do anything. i lost my job, my friends and almost my partner yet i still didnt actually do anything. it wasnt until i found the things i am passionate about and realised just how much more important those things were and how much it would actually mean if i lost them that i realised that enough really, truly, honestly and sincerely was enough

at that point it still wasnt easy. it isnt as if there is some 'enough' button to push when you actually make the choice to recover. in fact that point is where the hard work really begins and yes i do know how hard that work is. while i chipped away at the recovery process i began to collect those things that are of true value in my life. i made friends, i got married, i discovered while in treatment that my passion in life lay in social work so i went to uni for five long years and have just finished my social work degree with honours. i make art as a hobby and to keep me grounded.

i am still not 100% there and i still slip, but i have real reasons to keep on eating because it really would mean too much to lose those things i worked so hard to achieve. today was a magical day for me. i went swimming at the beach with my friend and her dog, and while taking photos i received a phone call - one i had been hoping for... i was chosen for a job... a job i really wanted, social work with mental health consumers in an art/creative workshop/day programme . how cool is that and how perfect for me is that

i know i couldnt have done the interview for this if i hadnt eaten... i couldnt have done the degree that got me the interview if i hadnt eaten, i couldnt have even discovered my passions if i hadnt eaten

you see are so many more important things in life than being sick... you just have to find them and commit to them. while my country is in a national state of emergency and lives are being destroyed, i am eating and i am beginning my journey to try and make some real difference in this world.

xoxo serra