And so the journey begins...

Who ever would have though it 'eh? Little old me, Heidi Jackson, is starting university next month! Yep, last Thursday confirmed that I will be attending the University of East Anglia this September... 

I never saw university as part of my future until around a year ago when I was beginning my second year at Sixth Form and it was encouraged. In all honesty, if you had of told me a few years ago that this was going to happen, I simply would not have believed you. I was just an extremely anxious teenager who didn't feel I would ever lead a normal life due to this overwhelming sense of nervousness that constantly followed me around like a huge dark cloud. 

However, I guess you could say that my story goes to show that if you are both determined and have the full support of those around you to move forward - it will happen eventually. Mental Health is a concept that limits a person to a great extent, making them feel completely useless and unable to achieve, but I can tell you from personal experience that getting help really is the key to reaching normality. It is nothing to be ashamed of. Let's hope that the government will soon realise the importance of mental health services and then increase the amount of care available to young people, allowing them to move forward also. 

I am definitely proud of what I have managed to achieve and I hope that it will perhaps give others the courage to do so too. University is both an exciting and rather daunting prospect but I believe that means we should do it all the more for that - 'if your dreams don't scare you, they aren't big enough'. 

Also, I should just add that if you didn't get the results you needed it does not mean that your journey has come to a halt. There is so much to do in the world - take a gap year and reapply in 2015, get the job you've always dreamed of, earn money, volunteer, get an apprenticeship! Honestly, grades do not equal success. :-)

If you're off to Uni this year also, good luck and make sure you have a blast! Don't let your mind stop you from saying yes to amazing opportunities. 

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