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POWERED UP - AN INSIGHT BY THE IN GROUP

Have your ambitions changed since you started working with LIFEbeat? “Definitely. It allowed me to step into a leadership role multiple times, and I realised it was something I thrive in. I was able to go into my old school and give a talk on my story and what it was like growing up at the school. Without LIFEbeat allowing me to step into those roles, I wouldn’t have been given an opportunity to realise it was something I felt good doing. It was the environment where I felt my most au- thentic self and definitely something I want to incorporate into my personal life going forward.”

struggled with – things I couldn’t talk about at school. It added to my creativity as I was able to manoeuvre those boundaries I’d always previously struggled with.”

What excites you about the future?

“There are so many avenues I can go down. Thinking about where I was at the beginning of LIFEbeat, I would never have dreamed about being where I am now: being in leader- ship roles; the autism diagnosis that explains my entire life; getting into university and studying something I really love. If someone had told me, I’d never have believed them. It ex- cites me that seven years from now, I could be looking at this time, this conversation, and never have guessed what would have happened. I under- stand my place in the world now. I’m excited to see how this element of my story continues to develop and where it gets me seven years from now.”

How have they helped you overcome your challenges?

“When I went to my first LIFEbeat camp, I was undiagnosed autistic, but LIFEbeat always helped me remove some of the boundaries I really

CREDIT - LIFEBEAT

How has working with LIFEbeat unlocked your creativity?

“At school, you’re very much restricted. You’re told how to think and whether your thinking is right or wrong. I was really struggling with that. Coming to LIFEbeat, I was given free rein over how I expressed myself creatively and to experience different mediums that worked for me, such as writing. I had a notebook in my first year at LIFEbeat, which I filled with loads of quotes from camps and got different people to write in. I was able to discover my creativity and take creative risks. LIFEbeat always provides a very encouraging and safe environment to explore those different mediums. If you fall, there are always people to catch you and put you back on stage.”

What difference has LIFEbeat made to your life?

“It helped me understand certain things going on at home that I’d never been able to talk about. It was a massive turning point for everyone in my family and a key moment in my life. Without LIFEbeat, that would not have happened. I realised for the first time that school and home don’t define you. I had some control over who and what I wanted to be. I was able to re-evaluate and understand myself.”

CREDIT - LIFEBEAT