I AM A WRITER!

With excitement in my body, calmness in my soul and a whole lot of love in my heart, on October 16th around 3.30pm I stood forward in front of a large audience of much more than I could ever have wished for….somewhere close to 300 people made their way into a room I had dreamt up and all of a sudden it was real..It was all real…Everything I had dreamed and even all the illustrations of my dreams that I had drawn out in my fifteen notebooks were now a reality…It was happening…it was real and this wasn’t someone else’s moment, it was mine….not an inch short of real life magic in front of my eyes…The room was full of beautiful people and I could feel it…We all could feel it…People who had no expectations were in awe of it all. Those who know me well, were smiling and winking at me as if to say, ‘we knew you could do it Lou!’ My inner circle physically placed all across the room. Down the back I could spot my first friend who turned into one of my best friends when we met at the cute yet carefree age of five years old and we instantly shared our love for the coloured crayons on our table in junior infants…

I looked all around & I could see people I worked with many years ago and people I had worked for and worked alongside in recent years all across the room…There were people who I went to college with, people who were my neighbours, people I didn’t recognise, people who I met randomly in my life, people who I loved dearly everywhere I looked. I could see my hugely supportive family and my dearest best friends who have helped carry my broken heart through everyday particularly over the last year & in so many ways have helped me heal….

Not forgetting my amazing virtual family on Facebook and of course my wonderful writing friends, I will never forget any of ye and what ye have done for me to be where I am in this moment, even if I haven’t got to physically squeeze you so tightly to say thank you just yet. Someday we will share the same air, we will look up to the exact same space in the sky, we will lift the same teapot and you will feel all of my eternally grateful love for you transcend into your heart …..Until that day, all I can do is write this letter and hopefully you will feel my love from here to there!

I was in a moment - it lasted a few seconds probably but in that moment I knew this is what life is all about...This was my moment and I could feel every fibre of it in my heart….I have always been told that I was extra sensitive ( by people who wanted to hurt me obviously) but in a moment about six years ago, I turned that statement on its head and I made it something positive & decided I wasn’t going to hide my sensitive soul. Those who didn’t understand me, would be noted in my mind & I would not absorb their energy for a second time….I had learned a valuable lesson that in time would be the making of me….

Now I take that ‘too sensitive’ statement as a compliment & my sensitivity is what makes me who I am so I no longer shy away from that special magic power instead I embrace it. Just like my writing…..On the 16th of October I knew my sensitive heart had brought me all the way to this moment….. and so had my pen……That’s the bit about life that isn’t easy (when others throw doubt at you) but it is so worth it to push through when you figure it all out……there is no going back….you will never go back to the old you! Instead you will keep reaching for better, and bigger and your dreams will begin to seem like natural progressions! No ego…instead just what you deserve.

An awful lot of work, commitment and sacrifice is at the centre of my story and I will never hide from that. And I will not hide from work now either. I will not make my goals, my dreams or my work ethic small so others feel more comfortable. No instead I will continue to strive for more. Strive to reach the stars. I did not climb the mountain without tears, sweat and a lot of pain in my heart and body, and I will not hide from the many many times I’ve failed either but in this moment I could see clearly now it was all worth it and this next part is all about continuing to believe in myself and continuing to embrace who I am.

I am a writer and it is my gift… I will never hide from my gift again. It was a long time coming but my god did it feel good to just say it out loud…. and really that often is the hardest part….Once you say something out loud, you take the fear out of it and all of a sudden, you are a writer…and that’s it….

Are you a writer? Are you an optimist? Are you a hard worker? Are you a good friend? Are you someone who shows too much kindness? By the way there is no such thing as too much kindness! Have you a gift you hide from? I felt like cinderella slipping on that perfect shoe just by owning my gift & even though one might say fairytales are not real, I’m a believer that anything is possible in this world, and it is down to us, to make our dreams come through. It is down to us to not hide from our gifts nor hide our good traits just because sometimes they make others feel uncomfortable.

Sometimes I think the world seems to thrive in the negative nowadays and we forget that it’s ok to be positive. It’s ok to work hard. It’s even ok to take your moment and celebrate it. That’s exactly what the launch was about. It was a celebration of me stating to the world that I am a WRITER and I am so proud to see twenty years of me working hard paying off and as a bonus I was so proud that it was my best friends story of 107 years that I had the honour of celebrating. As well as a room full, physically and virtually of people I love. What else is life about? ONLY THAT! Life is for living, loving and laughing and I hope you never leave your gift nor your happiness behind!

Keep reaching out! Keep believing in yourself! Keep embracing your gift! Keep living and loving and of course keep laughing! Keep looking UP! Keep being YOU!

Love and light,

Your biggest believer,

Lou xx

If you might like to buy Granny Nancy’s book for a Christmas gift or maybe a little pressie for yourself, I’d be so grateful for your support. The book can be ordered from here: www.livingandlaughingwithlou.com

Also you can watch back the full launch here and you can hear and see exactly what happened to fill my heart with so much joy and happiness! Love ye all lots xx