Christmas Appeal: Amy's Story
“I expected my arrival at Blue Triangle to be rather obscure, with uncertainty of those around me, not able to handle my strong emotions. However, I was wrong.”
My first impression of the staff was warm and welcoming – they were quick to make me feel at home. This helped with my overall development in building up my confidence, having that warmth and support surrounding me, with multiple kind-hearted personalities which is just what I needed to thrive again.
I was given support for a list of things, my education being the first due to learning about my HND course. There were certain obstacles which impacted my stay at Blue Triangle, but this was quickly fixed by making a couple of phone calls with staff support.
My mental health was another, due to trauma that I experienced at home. Because of the ways of those who cared for me, I was living in constant fear of being wrong or being too vocal that it became impossible to go back. I came from a background of a broken-down family which left me in the middle of things, trying to figure out where I stood in that circle. I then discovered that wasn’t me and I wanted to be free from the negativity that was swerving around me. I received a lot of reassurance from Blue Triangle staff that what I went through wasn’t my fault and that I had the right to feel the way I did about my home life. This was enough to persuade myself to go to counselling sessions and since then, I have felt a lot better.
"One fond memory from my stay at Blue Triangle would be at Christmas time when I first arrived as I got to help decorate the Christmas tree."
Later, we did a gingerbread house competition which was fun as I made a friend during this time. I’m really appreciated her positivity despite going through her own battles – it was like we were battle buddies – constantly making improvements every day for our well-being.
A few weeks before officially moving on from Blue Triangle, I decided to do two murals. One of “Bank Street” in Kilmarnock, and the other showing the tree of life, quoting “turn over a new leaf”, as a thanks for the support during my stay, as I doubt I would be thriving at university right now without them.
My inspiration for art started when I was in Primary school. Finding ways to cope in class, I was always getting compliments for drawing doodles by teachers and friends. This quickly turned into a more serious hobby and not just a coping mechanism, researching, looking for inspiration from popular artists which helped drive me to where I am today, at Dundee University.
I learned to better control my emotions and live independently on my own without panic. I felt this also helped prepare me for university in a way, now living with eight other flatmates, in an almost family-like dynamic, looking out for one another. I don’t think I would be confident enough to even talk to anyone because my head was full of pain and hurtful memories. I no longer spiral around as often as I did back then, as I now have activities to distract my soul from thinking back from those times.
I plan to continue my education in Fine Art & Design and hope to take up job opportunities to gain an understanding of what work life is like so that I can someday start my own business doing the practices I love the most: sculpture, printmaking, life drawings, clay modelling and who knows? I might discover new things during my university experience.
I also plan to become a college educator and run charity events for care experienced youth and work alongside professionals to give those young people opportunities they can benefit from for a lifetime.
