The 17th May 2010 is when it all began. What started as an inspirational tool for me to vent, has turned into so much more.
It continues to be a source of daily strength for me. My website is a way for me to put my experiences into order, ticking a box for each experience. My blog allows for clarity where I had none.
It's a place where I can understand my experiences in their entirety, allowing myself to move into a more positive head space after years of negativity around a disability I didn't know I had. It's also a tool for new explorations, allowing me to continue to understand my disability as I continue to learn more about myself.
My Diary allows me to write about and find acceptance on the whole 'Cerebral Palsy' thing, including my neurological difficulties, because they are what I struggle with the most. It is also a tool for others to understand and explore their own experiences, which allows them to change.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank friends who continue to inspire us through their experiences. Thank you to those who continue to read my blog and for anyone new reading the Diary.
The CP Diary not only continues to be an inspiration for me, but it's a place where we can all be ourselves, in a world that is forever changing and where we get to support one another in such uncertain times.
Awesome and congratulations! Hard to believe that it's been 8 years already. Time flies when your life is full of insanity and chaos, usually everyone else's.
I had tried to escape in 2011 and 2012, but things kept coming up, like my girlfriend's father dropping dead the night before I was all set to move out, so it was like the universe was conspiring against me.
The past 8 years have also pointed out that I may have a Dependent Personality Disorder on top of everything else that I have to deal with.
I am grateful that The CP Diary exists. Your daily posts would often be about the issue I was dealing with at the time.
Here's to many more years of The CP Diary and our continued friendship.
Thanks Randy. Yes, of course and that's so kind. I find it difficult to believe myself it's been 8 years. It's rolled by. I'm also pleased that my blogs resonate with what you deal with too.
Yes, I think the hardest part to change is the first step. Not making the first step is often the one regret we have, particularly when life moves on, we get older and we look back and realise we should have changed things.
In terms of the Diary, I couldn't do what I do without your support and your responding on my blogs. Thank you.
You should be as proud of your achievement as we all are, even if we don't tell you as often as we should.
Thank you. It's always nice to be told, even if it is hard to feel. As a result of frontal lobe damage I am not able to equate my own achievements. What I've done with the Diary doesn't feel like an achievement. I would want to feel proud though.
The more feedback I get, the better I feel knowing I'm doing something right and that makes me happy.
Awesome eight years Ilana! Eight years of daily inspiration and information, just before we disappear into our lives.
You've always made our worries less obvious. I just love The CP Diary!
That's kind Tim. I just love your words and love that you love The CP Diary.
The irony is that with part of the brain that deals with various aspects of my emotions scrambled, I have found a different way to deal with my emotions and that is what I bring to my blogs.
I struggle and will always continue to struggle with anxiety because I have frontal lobe damage. The Diary makes my emotions less scrambled.
It is my job to make sure I deal with less anxiety and stress, because that makes my brain even more scrambled, if it can get any more scrambled!