13/4/2017 0 Comments Who am I?
Childhood - growing up in the UKI was born and raised in England, to a kiwi Mum and British Dad, and lived there until I was 16. Mum and Dad divorced, and me and my younger sister then moved to New Zealand with Mum. Growing up in England was pretty rough - I was an incredibly shy, self-conscious girl, and was bullied through most of my school life. I had a very small group of close friends, who I had known since pre-school, who I was more outgoing with, but to the rest of the world, I was quiet and withdrawn. I turned to music as my hobby and outlet, and to this day, still enjoy singing as a way to relax! Academically, I was a star student - getting top grades, and succeeding in everything that I put my mind to - I guess I didn't have the usual social distractions, and just kept my head down and got on with things. Because of my bullying, I liked to please people - I wanted to make everyone happy so that they would like me - including my teachers! So I strived to get the top marks in everything. My social skills were not so great, and I would never initiate a conversation. Therefore, social situations were few and far between, and I would not step out of my comfort zone much in fear of being ridiculed and bullied - I definitely cared what everyone else thought about me far too much (and I think most kids growing up did!) I had sleep issues and was seeing sleep psychologists and councilors from a very young age. The big move to New ZealandSo, the move to New Zealand was actually a blessing in disguise. I had finished year 11 (5th form) and in August 2012, the three of us moved over the other side of the world, to a little town called Alexandra in Central Otago. From there, I skipped year 12 (due to my age, and the different school term start times between here and England!) and jumped straight in to year 13 (7th form). Luckily I had a lot of family and cousins around, as this is where my Mum grew up, so this helped a little bit with making friends. But it was still very slow, and I spent most break times in the dark room at school working on my photography portfolio, as I was too nervous to approach people. I was still incredibly shy, and kept to myself most of the time. I was very dependent on my family, and not confident at all - if I needed to make a phone call, it would take a lot for me to work up to even picking up the phone - I had to have a script of exactly what I would say (even if it was just ordering fish and chips!) So somehow I survived my last year at high school, and then University came around a lot sooner than expecting, since skipping a year! University and gaining independence and confidenceSo I decided to go to Otago Uni (as most people from my town did!) and lived in an amazing Hall of Residence - this is where I HAD to get out of my comfort zone. I started coming out of my shell, making friends, and gaining some confidence. I started studying a Bachelor of Arts, with no real focus - but was studying Computer Science, Music, Art History, and Film and Media papers. After 2 years I still had no real focus, and decided to re-assess, and study to become a teacher. So 3 years later I came out with a Bachelor of Teaching in Early childhood and Primary, and then proceeded to be an Early Childhood Teacher.
Over this time at uni I got up to the usual partying, eating crap (living on a student budget and had no idea about "healthy food"!) This is when my issues around my weight arose, and in my next blog I will discuss this, and explain how this experience got me in to wanting to work in the fitness industry!
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AuthorLisa Edwards - Personal Trainer and Health and Wellness enthusiast Archives
July 2017
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