About Me
Hi, I’m Daniella! Firstly I am filled with gratitude for your presence here and I love that you’ve stopped by to get to know me a little more. I’m not good at keeping it short and sweet, regardless of how much I’ve tried, I’m a talker, blame it on my gemini moon! I started blogging over ten years ago, right in the middle of the blogging boom and I found some success in doing so, mostly because it gave me a sense of purpose, something I hadn’t really felt before. But then about three years ago, I decided to have a break, I’m a mum to a beautiful girl but I’m also her carer, she has autism and has a lot of care needs. Recently I began longing for a space that I could put a little more of my soul into and so I have decided to begin blogging again.
A little more about me, life has been far from stereotypical, at the age of eleven I had to leave education due to being diagnosed with M.E, I was really very sick with it and had no idea how it would continue to play a significant role in almost every area of my life. For a long time I really wanted to escape this reality and refused to be defined by what is considered a disability. Now I’m more comfortable and accepting of this part of me and how it has actually served a fundamental role in healing parts of my life that would I have no doubt, eventually come back to haunt me! Living and managing a condition like this has been and continues to be learning process, full of ups, downs and unpredictable moments but I believe what this life has taught me, has been invaluable and served many purposes and I’m hoping that I can pay some of that knowledge forward here on my blog.
Due to the condition I have learned to live and move with, the privilege of having a job or a career hasn’t, as of yet, been a part of Gods plan, I think this reflected my sense of purpose for a long time. Many years ago, one of the first things that gave me a sense of purpose was my interest in fashion and style. I loved clothes, always have and I enjoyed creating looks and soon enough I began documenting them with a camera, and it was this that eventually lead me to blogging. Curating my style and putting together outfits has and continues to be something close to my heart. It’s a creative outlet for me, a joy that I look forward to as and when I have the energy for it and though my style isn’t particularly unique, on trend or showy, learning my style has been what I consider to be a craft that I have loved developing and nurturing over time. Though style is personal and whether it is considered “good” or not is subjective, using this blog as a platform to share my outfits, my taste and the wisdom I have learnt along the way, feels instinctive and serendipitous to me.
Another unexpected creative outlet for me is photography. I don’t consider myself a photographer by any stretch of the imagination and anything involving tech, unfortunately doesn’t come naturally to me but I have become accustomed to our camera and with the small amount I understand, I really enjoy! In hindsight, I think even as a child, I enjoyed documenting moments with whatever camera I had to hand, I just never envisioned I would go on to enjoy it as much as I do and like I said, technically I don’t really know what I’m doing but I think when you love what you’re doing, the technicalities of it all fade away and how you see the world and all its little details, is ultimately the only image that matters. When it comes to what I love taking photos of, well, I love visiting new places and capturing the parts of it that make me feel even more grateful to be alive. I particularly enjoy nature shots and my daughter’s candid moments and especially her smile, because it is the purest thing I have ever been lucky enough to see!
More about me, as I briefly mentioned, I’m a mummy to a beautiful little girl, who came into our lives and turned me upside down and inside out. Before I became a mum, I became a young, hands on auntie (we lived together) and having my two nephews and then my daughter changed me forever, I know that sounds cliche but it really did impact my life and in ways I couldn’t even imagine before them. I’ve learned a lot through my experience of nurturing and learning from both my nephews and my daughter and I am undoubtedly yet to learn a lot more. One of the biggest and most unexpected part of motherhood was when my daughter who was hitting every “milestone” for the first year, suddenly regressed and at four years old was diagnosed with Autism, which of course, by then, wasn’t a surprise. My daughter is mostly non verbal, her care needs are vast and navigating life as both her mother and her carer, has and continues to be an unfolding that feels mostly overwhelming but also has incredibly beautiful moments and teachings, that only this version of life could teach. I mention this because I’ve been in this for seven years now, there’s still a long way to go but I’ve also learnt a lot in this short amount of time and I hope to bring the essence of those learnings to this space. In doing so I will endeavour to help other mum/carers to feel a little more seen but to also bring a better understanding and awareness to those who have had little interaction with autism, because I honestly cannot express enough how much further society has to go on truly understanding, navigating and appreciating the needs, the complexities and the inner workings of these incredible souls and if I can contribute to that in any way, then I feel a part of life purpose will be complete.
One more thing I would like to touch upon, is my connection to God, the angelic realm and my interest in symbolism, crystals, animals totems, numerology, astrology, religions (though I’m not part of any, I just believe we can learn from them on some level|) alternative healing pracitices and the unseen energy of the universe, that I believe is gently communicating with us in many ways. There is so much of this world that we do not see, so many traditions deep within our ancestry that on the surface we have forgotten but somewhere in the records of our souls, I believe we know. Sometimes it is about getting out of our own way, opening our minds and if only merely contemplating the idea that’s there’s more beyond what the two eyes can see. There are spiritual lessons in everything, through the good and the hard times and though I love all the woo woo stuff and is undoubtedly a way of life for me, as my faith has been a foundation of navigating me through so much, I do also consider myself a logical person too, yes I’m a spiritual soul but I am living in a physical timeline and so I try to take a balanced approach to most areas of my life, i’m always learning and I do my best to remember that. Trying to integrate my spiritual side with my materialistic side, has, at times felt tricky and I guess somewhat counterintuitive and definitely contrasting, I often felt I had to separate them but polarity is a wonderful part of the human experience and I am now much more at peace with these two, somewhat apposing aspects of my personality, I don’t have to choose one or the other, they aren’t mutually exclusive and not only can these two aspects of my being coexist but maybe they can even compliment one another too and here, on this blog, could be the virtual bridge for the two.
To summarise:
There’s no doubt, learning to navigate the challenges of life, has been a learning process, from dealing with a turbulent childhood that comes with its own mental and emotional fallout, to living/managing a chronic condition for majority of my life thus far, to becoming a mother and then a carer to my child! But One thing has been a constant source of release and creativity and that’s been my love of style, hence Life vs Style! Also my admiration of the spiritual teachings and lessons that are at the core of it all, the highs, the lows and the in-between. I’m grateful for it all because it has bought this far and now, I think I am finally finding my way back to me. Thank you for reading, Daniella Robins x