Following up from my last post on Instagram about calling out our own bullshit. Yesterday afternoon I met Kat John and Steve Buchler!
I was thinking about a conversation I had with Steve when he asked “What do you do”. You know what I said? F*cking nothing! Literally! I said “nothing at the moment”. That was my exact response. Rosalana called me out on my bullshit and spoke of my accomplishments. Thanks girl! But Wtf Ann! I think it was mixture of being star stuck, because let’s face it, we all know I love what these two legends do! But it was also what I like to call “the old Ann” (yes I am talking about myself as a 3rd person) . The old Ann crawled out of her hole for a moment and tried to deem her unworthy of speaking highly of herself.
F*ck that shit!
So! Hey Steve, if you’re reading this, my name is Ann and I’m a self proclaimed legend. I am a blogger, mother, wife, prankster, advocate, youth/social/community worker and many other things but quiet? That normally isn’t one of them.
I like my coffee hot, my puns intended and my music loud. (Music/poetry is my outlet) I am extremely passionate about serving/supporting others. I share my journey and knowledge on my blog and I am so proud to say that my articles about my life journey have inspired and made it far and wide around the globe on radio/news outlets. I was nominated for a variety of awards this year and I made the finals for the Victorian community hero of the year award, I know big deal right?! #proud. I’m not sure what my title is? When someone asks what I do I actually don’t know what to say, so if you know what the name is for what I do let me know k?
I also own a business named Bent But Not Breaking 
This is my absolute baby that I created when I was in a dark period in my life, the logo and the meaning behind the name tells a story and is quite symbolical, I plan to share more about this on my unfinished website soon. After establishing my Facebook page I moved over to Instagram to get the ball rolling there. I have since grown my business and spent my time utilising Bent But Not Breaking as a platform to provide support to our community who are doing It hard, whether it be support financially or emotionally/mentally (free of charge) All of what I have done has come out of my own pocket which had become a challenge to manage and afford so I’m excited to say that I just launched a new merch store where profit goes back into the Melbourne community and I’m so bloody proud of that! Oh and I am also so f*cking hilarious that a little pee dribbles down my legs when I laugh at my own jokes, so I guess you could say I am pretty cool 😎 After my chat with you and my drive home, I realised why I froze and told you that I do “nothing”. Truthfully, I am very proud of what I do and I’m honored that I had the opportunity to meet you! So thank you for the lesson that you didn’t know you taught!
To anyone reading this, on my drive home yesterday I quickly realised that I still have some work to do, we all do and always will! There are no limits or an ending to self growth. The lessons are truly endless. Today’s lesson is, it is okay to speak highly of yourself! You are allowed to feel proud and speak of your accomplishments! There is a huge difference between confidence and arrogance and it seems that I got those two twisted in that star gazed moment. It happens! and that’s my point.
Many of you who follow me on my social media accounts are on a self-growth journey, and I need you to understand and accept that this doesn’t come without stuff ups, we are human, and even when we feel confident within ourselves and our growth, it doesn’t mean that old patterns and habits won’t reappear at times. Self growth is a constant work in progress and sometimes we need to call ourselves out on our bullshit when mistakes are made. I say it often but I will say it again, if you look closely you will see that mistakes are opportunities, they are lessons, they are a MUSTAKE! (must-take) Because sometimes we must make a mistake in order to grow and learn, and the only thing that you should hold onto and take from those minor hiccups is the lesson!
There is a lesson in everything, and I mean EVERYTHING!
So true! I think most of us struggle the most when it comes to having to describe ourselves to others.. Maybe because there is just so much to say, and how can we say it in a brief sentence.. It’s also because we think what we do doesn’t measure up.. We need to be vulnerable to describe ourselves and this is scary but it is the bravest thing we can do! True self love is a never ending journey!