A HUGE HUGE thankyou to my readers!

This beaming smile is because of you....and a 1 litre jug of champers!

Today I just want to take a moment to stop and really appreciate each and every one of you who takes the time to read my blog.

I know life is busy. I know that we’re always stretching ourselves thin to meet the demands of work, and kids and friends and family, and our relationship with our partner and updating our Facebook statuses and Tweeting about picking our noses and just trying to keep our sanity.

So thank you for spending a couple of moments every day/week/month to stop by my blog and to read about my thoughts and feelings towards topics that I am SO passionate about.

I started my blog just over 2 months ago not knowing where it was going to take me, whether people would be interested in hearing what I had to say, or whether I’d even enjoy doing it.

I have since had close to 9,000 views.

I am SO pleased to say that I have found my niche....now I just need to work out how to get paid for it hahaha.

But seriously, the other night when I was reading my blog out to my partner, I realised that even if I never get paid $$$ to write, then it really doesn’t bother me. I am reaping the reward of helping others to accept, deal with and move on from things that have happened in their life, I am giving people the opportunity to speak out loud about difficult things that they have faced in life to try and help other people and so that other people know that they are NOT alone, and if anything, I am doing something for myself. For me.

You, have given me the confidence to delve deeper into my Depression then I ever thought that I would and it’s helping me to move past Depression so that it doesn’t define me.

You have given me the courage to continue writing.

To be honest, there's been three moments that stand out for me since I have written my blog. One is when my Dad texted me saying how proud of me he was. Coming from a man who never said I love you or who never said those precious words when I was growing up made me cry. I am making my Dad proud.

The second was the other night. I got home from work and my partner said that he had a surprise for me. Usually his surprises are things like snail bait for my garden, but I still got excited. When he whipped out a box I almost did a little bit of wee in my pants. OMG! I opened it to reveal a i-pad type thing except it's not an i-pad as a symbol of how proud he is of me for writing my blog. He wanted me to be able to carry it around so that I can write any time that I get an idea...how sweet! I cried!

Super LUCKY!

The third would be when my story, Depression: the Silent Killer appeared on the front page of the ABC Open website which lead to a live interview on the ABC radio station. Wow. Just wow. I can not believe where my blog is taking me and that I am being given the opportunity to share my story to such a large audience. I really hope that it is helping someone out there in some way! To check it out, click here.

Every time I log in and see the page views increase, every time I see that someone has liked my post on Facebook or signed up to be a Follower and everytime someone comments on my blog, I have a beaming smile on my face. It truly means so much to me.

I always knew that I wanted to teach. I guess that’s why I studied to be a high school teacher for 3 ½ years and then realised that it wasn’t quite right for me. Now I have discovered a new way to create awareness and hopefully encourage people to be more critical of what they read, see and hear and to either question their beliefs or secure them through my blog.

You guys are helping to make me feel like the luckiest girl alive.

I am SO happy. And trust me, if you have been following my blog you’d know that after hitting rock bottom with Depression from April-September 2011, that that means the WORLD to not only me, but those closest to me.

I’m happy, I’m healthy and I’m writing and I LOVE IT!

And an even cheekier smile with chocolate in my mouth!

So thank you.

I hope that you are getting as much from my posts as I am writing them!

Look after yourself and those around you,

Kirsty xxx