https://ift.tt/2yn5xM7 What really is Mike Meets Life? To be honest, this started as a personal blog. I'd floated ideas for years about what kind of blog to do: lifestyle, motivational, key issues, technical etc. I could never really find my niche until I started talking about mental health and I actually received 100's of hits on two particular early blog posts I made on Mike Meets Life, regarding mental health and bullying. The messages were of thanks and of support and it was overwhelmingly emotional. The reason for setting up a blog in the first place, going back to my very earlier variations over 10 years ago, was loneliness. Very rarely having anyone to talk to is difficult and I always felt I had a lot of care to give, kind and supportive words and my story to share to hopefully help others. As I've grown, my desire to help others has grown with me. I remember particularly from my teens having a particular sense of overwhelming desire to help others in one way or another. It didn't necessarily need to be in the aspect of counselling, or as a mental health advocate and writing blog posts like I do on MML, I just knew I wanted to make a difference. The truth is, if I could, I'd give every starving child water and food. I'd give every abused or abandoned child a home. I'd clear everyone's darkest clouds so they could see clearly again. I'd do anything I could to help anyone who needed it. But the reality is I can't help everyone, I can't do everything - I can just try and do my part and try and inspire others to do the same. I think my desire comes from having very few people there to help me. It helps put everything in to perspective. I was bullied nearly every year of my school life and remember some particularly rough points of being beaten up because I was sat in the wrong place, to having my head smashed off every radiator in the corridor on the way to assembly and even having my lunch stolen on several occasions. I've always had very few friends - I've never really known why: people just don't like me I don't think, but I've come to accept that and have always appreciated what I have got. I've stopped blaming myself, trying to change myself, trying to work out.... via Instagram https://instagr.am/p/B_J7mFTAgls/