Having been chronically ill since 1996, writing poetry gave me the motivation I sought to carry on writing. 
Having lost my confidence and self-esteem the words below came to me within hours.

This poem was first written in 2002 before my husband and I decided to live in the mountains of southwest Turkey.
As many of you know, I not only turned my life ( it took 3 years), around and began to manage my health, but I also became a full-time writer and published author, storyteller, blogger and public speaker. 

Please Accept Me As I Am 
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Please accept me as I am that’s all I ask of you.

I have always been different 

ever since my life began.

Underneath this facade is a real person 

who cries and feels like most. 

Desperate to take off her mask-not feel rejected so much.

This young girl felt she never fitted in

and was never quite good enough.

She craved the limelight,

Hoping to fill the void that remained inside.

Please Accept me as I am

A girl who struggled through life

a wish to achieve, do better,

desperate for acceptance. 

Fifty years on, she discovered

What she has achieved is down to 

Who she is, and not who she decided

to become.

Please Accept me as I am

No more struggling to mirror what others do.

No more people pleasing. No more playing a part.

No more putting on the ‘Show’ 

Time to do what comes straight from the heart.

Now she lives a true and authentic life. 

This is her story.

So please accept “She” as she is.

Because that she, is ME

And that is enough.