I’ve never really thought about the fact I’m a woman. By that I mean of course I knew I WAS one but I had never explored what it actually meant to me. It’s actually only been the last 18months where I’ve thought of myself as anything other than just a body occupied by illness, I felt I had no identity outside of that and at times never saw a future for myself, let alone actually growing and developing in to who I am today. It was quite timely, really that the folks at Thierry Mugler got in touch and posed a few questions about womanhood as part of a new campaign.

These days I can appreciate my femininity and all that in entails. From having a body with curves that I am willing to embrace through to finding a boyfriend and falling in love. I spend time attempting to better my daily appearance, I bother about my hair and my makeup and although superficial I feel that it’s all a part of my new found acceptance of who I am and wanting to appear pretty to the world (I know some will disagree with this, but to me personally it’s a part of being a woman and embracing my feminine side).

I also don’t believe that being a woman should limit myself, or anyone in achieving what they want to achieve. It hasn’t been an easy journey but I’m now happily settled in job (well, jobs) that I love and match exactly what I always wanted before illness and a loss of drive stood in the way. Anybody who tries to tell me I can’t do something will be greeted with a “watch me” – those words just add fuel to the fire, I still lack some confidence in my ability but slowly and surely I am starting to believe in those three little words “yes, I can”.

The last year and a half has been a metamorphosis, really. I feel like I’ve emerged out of a safe and warm little bubble in to a world full of colour and noise and emotions (and yes, I am one of those women who cries at everything!). It’s a little scary sometimes but I am always learning and expanding on myself. My confidence in who I am as a person and what I look like is growing on a daily basis…you’re never going to find me walking around with my arse hanging out a pair of hot pants or my boobs spilling out of a top, but that’s ok. My inspiration doesn’t come from celebrities or fictional characters, nope, mine comes from the people I see around me on a daily basis- from the patients I see in my clinics, from bloggers who I look up to and admire, from my Nan and my mother and my friends. I am often humbled by these wonderful people and draw on their experiences to develop my own.

My name is Laura and I am a headstrong, capable and incredibly stubborn woman and nothing else is going to get in my way.

To find out more about the campaign you can check out the following social media channels:

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

Pintrest

Let me know your thoughts on being a woman below.