Walking into the hall at Methodist College Belfast, I wasn’t sure what to expect. A sea of young faces looked back at me and as I began to share my journey, something special happened, they leaned in. You could feel the focus in the room.
What touched me most came after I finished speaking. Hands went up and the questions weren’t just polite curiosities, they were thoughtful, heartfelt and at times, incredibly poignant. It was clear that they hadn’t just listened, they had connected and were already reflecting on how resilience might play a role in their own lives.
For me, that’s the real reward of speaking. Not just telling my story but seeing it spark conversations, new perspectives and perhaps even a little more belief in what’s possible.
It’s moments like these that remind me why I love sharing my story in schools and beyond.
