The photo is such a special one to me, the happiness and laughter on my daughter’s face is one thing – but there is something that you can not see in this photo…  Minutes before this was taken on Saturday night, my daughter had just watched herself on a cinema screen for the first time in the film premier of a movie that she is in. As the credits rolled, so did her tears – I watched as the tears flowed fast down her beautiful face, she swiped at them quickly, desperate to stop them before the cinema lights came back on.  I held her in my arms, and squeezed her tightly- when I asked her why she was crying she replied… “I’m happy mummy, and I feel proud of myself.”

Rewind to four years ago when we decided to take our daughter out of school – she was suffering terribly with anxiety and low self esteem – school were not supporting her at all. At her worst, she was being physically sick everyday, it really was such a distressing time.

Making the decision to home educate was the best decision we have made.  At the very start we enrolled Ellila-Jean in a local drama school in an attempt to help her with her confidence, and help it certainly did. She found something that she truly enjoyed and we watched her confidence blossom right in front of us.  In the last couple of years she has had some great opportunities, and met the loveliest people.

So this picture is much more than just a happy photo, it represents an incredible journey that Ellila-Jean has been on.  It has not always been smooth sailing – but we are worlds apart from where we were at the start, and words can not describe how incredibly proud we are of her.

Four years ago I would never have imagined that our little girl would have the confidence to stand up in front of a cinema full of people and talk, let alone be in a film… but what means so very much more than that, is that she now believes in herself…and that truly is the best thing of all!

(Photo credit Grant Archer.  Also in the photo is Tom England)

Written by Kirsty and uploaded by Streams.