day 6.

Where to begin? This photograph has so many different meanings, I don't know how to convey them all.

I guess we should start with the facts. To the left we have my hand, the right the hand of a darling 4 year old, a little girl I would do absolutely anything for, the most energetic, beautiful soul you could ever meet. So in one sense, the word 'love' represents our bond, a bond I dare say will never be broken.

Now, the real reason we both have love written across our arms is a little bit deeper, a reason I doubt she understands. Today, November 13th, was 'To Write Love On Her Arms' Day. A day where to show your compassion and love for all those out there suffering with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. By simply writing 'love' on your arm, you can prove to someone suffering, that there is hope. As someone who has witnessed & even been through such terrible things, I felt that I needed to participate. I proudly walked around with 'love' written on my arm all day, hoping someone would see and realise that there is a light at the end of that tunnel. I guess, when you think about it, it's very unlikely anyone noticed, and if they did they probably assumed I was some random girl with a shit excuse for a tattoo, but you know what? It really doesn't matter to me, I feel like somehow I've made a slight difference. There's a really powerful passage on the TWLOHA website, I'd like to share it with you.

"You were created to love and be loved. You were meant to live life in relationship with other people, to know and be known. You need to know that your story is important and that you're part of a bigger story. You need to know that your life matters"

It's that passage that made my realise that we need to start young, we need to instil a sense of self worth into the little minds of every child out there. Although she may not understand why I was suddenly letting her have writing on her arm, I told her that sometimes people don't feel loved and that we need to show them that we care for them. Her response to this was something along the lines of "like when I do bad things, mum & dad still love me", I guess she's not ready to understand but I think that by showing her what I mean, by showing her that she matters, I'm making a difference.

http://www.twloha.com/vision/