An altruistic heroine next door 👩
'I'll pair you up, you'll have to interview each other and then you'll write about your partner's lifestory' were pretty much my professor's words that filled me with dread. I hate pair or group assignments as I hate socialising. So I was totally surprised at the feelings of hopefulness and gratitude that flooded me once I completed this task.
My partner was Sue with whom I had exchanged no looks or words before the interview. She fearlessly opened up to me about her life and I want to share the bits that impacted me the most and I believe that can inspire any human that comes across this post.
Use your voice
When she was a baby, her parents and she moved to Helensburgh. There she picked up a Scottish accent which made the interaction with her classmates at primary school in England, more specifically in Eccleshall, where she returned at the age of 5, very difficult. However, that was the impetus to understand the power of a clear voice.
She studied law because she wanted to use her power in order to help people in need. Nevertheless, she quickly found out that her knowledge and practices weren't enough to provide the solace that everyone who has been treated unfairly desires. You need to have money in order to fight and find justice but the ones seeking it the most desperately don't possess that much money; justice is an expensive commodity.
Sue, who never forgot her drive for becoming a lawyer, decided to look for an effective way to help people. She got a second degree in Theology and a masters in Hospital Chaplaincy. And she has been putting all this knowledge into practice since then as not only does she teach people with mental health issues basic life skills but also she works at church voluntarily.
Support your loved ones
From the moment Sue got into university, she learned how to be independent. And she loved this freedom that came with the sense of knowing that she can survive on her own. When her mother was diagnosed with dementia, she knew that the right thing to do was to move in to her parents' house and take care of both of them. It wasn't easy. Seeing the people who were always a solid and stable anchor lose their strength was devastating but it was her turn to take care of them and she was more than happy to repay them for all the sacrifices and all the material and emotional goods they provided for her over the years.
Her mother dominated the conversation during the family-related part of the interview. She was her role model and she taught her the most important lesson in her life; be strong and don't give up no matter what.
The show goes on
Now Sue is 61 years old and she attends the MA Creative Writing programme at the University of Nottingham. After the passing of her parents, she realised that she should also think about her own life and do things that please her. So, she applied for this course for her own good and no one else's. Although she didn't aim to do this masters for professional reasons, now she hopes that she can publish at least one book. She mostly writes poems because when she does, she can sometimes hear her mother's voice reciting Shakespeare's sonnets.
My talk with Sue lasted only about half an hour but it was enough to make me reflect on my life and inspire me. Saying you are altruistic isn't enough; you have to act in order to actually bring a change to the world and bring light in someone's life, just like Sue does every day. In order to do all that, you need to be emotionally and mentally healthy and that can be achieved only by being selfish and spending time, money and energy on things that bring you joy. I hope Sue inspires you to finally make all your dreams and intentions come true.
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