The feelings behind the  #endomakeyourself aware video campaign

Hi beautiful humans.

This is another blog post, brought to you by the early hours of the a.m. I feel so bloody sick from my pain medication again, plus I have a mind that does not know how to be quiet some nights. When I have a lot going on I do not sleep because my mind goes 100 miles ph. I always try to utilise this time by writing posts as I am so much more in the zone in the quiet, pitch black comfort of my bedroom.

Kodi and I went out for dinner tonight to celebrate his day of birth (we had such a fantastic day) and we were seated next to a lady I work with. She just happened to be out for dinner with a relative of one of the woman who was featured in my Endometriosis Awareness video! She introduced us and got talking about the vid and honestly it was awesome to talk to one of her family memebers and see how supportive and proud they were of her. 

I’ve been stopped so many times by friends and acquaintances sharing their love and compliments but even better yet, asking!!!!!!!! They want to know more about Endo because the video sucked them in! 

“What is Endo? Are that many people really affected? I didn’t know (insert name here) had it until she shared the video! I told my mum about the video and she told me she had it! Wow, is there really no cure? Will it ever go away?” To name only a few. However one of my favourites has to be – “I’m so sorry, I had no idea it was that bad. ”

I didn’t show any one bar my boyfriend a preview of the vid, I didn’t want to ruin the experience for myself. I didn’t want to hear disappointed views or people offering their opinion. Kim (the amazing photographer) and I had worked so hard on the project and I was beyond nervous. I had complete confidence in the both of us and what we had achieved however I was still so nervous that my audience wouldn’t love it like I did. So I showed no one as I didn’t want to make these doubts any worse for myself. Plus I really didn’t even have the time to show anyone because we pumped it out and uploaded it so quickly haha we just couldn’t wait to get this message out there in the open #girlbosses . 

Anyway, my mum called me crying after watching it online. She obviously knows all the ins and outs of endo and spends a lot of time doing her own research on it. And this video still brought her to tears, she said to me that obviously she knows what this disease does but because I don’t live with her anymore she doesn’t see or deal with the every day nuisance this disease causes me anymore. She was so distraught by the girls who had public embarrassing experiences like bleeding and passing out in a tourist destination. When she called me crying I knew that this video was going to go off with a hit. My friends told me they cried and sent selfies via snapchat to me with bad panda eyes and running mascara from their tears. It was honestly the best compliment I have ever received. Their tears meant they understood what we deal with. Kim and I had done our jobs correctly. 

This made me so excited. I am very open about what I go through with this disease and have no problem talking about it to anyone, if my friends still were reacting like this to the video imagine what reaction girls who don’t often speak about their troubles with endo are going to get when they share this on their Facebook wall. Their loved ones were going to go crazy! I got so energised by thinking about the love and support girls could get by just sharing this 5 minute video on Facebook, or tagging their best friend or boyfriend or family. It brought me immense happiness knowing that this video was going to change the way people suffer. 

I showed my boss the other day while I was at work. She didn’t even know about the All About Annie pages. So anyway, whilst she was watching, one of the signs came up that says something along the lines of there not being enough understanding on the illness and out loud she said “no, there’s not” whilst shaking her head. Although not really knowing much about endo, she has always been so supportive and understanding! However again, I got so excited thinking about other management all over the world watching this video realising how real this is and that their employees aren’t faking a thing! 

We are already up to 64.8k views in less than a week, amazing right? That many people have watched this video and are now more informed on Endometriosis and what we all deal with! Reading that scentence above could almost make me cry. Not for myself, but for you ladies. I honestly feel so privileged, honoured and blessed to be able to do what I do. Helping you all feel better about yourselves and informing your loved ones on the reality of Endo is something I hope I can do forever! I hope too turn this all into my career as the thrill I get from reading your messages thanking me is one I cannot put into words. 

I seriously wish I could have had all of you there on the day to take part. Gosh I met some beautiful, courageous and strong woman. 

There were laughs, hugs and tears shared on that day. As some of the ladies looked down and viewed the cards that told their stories they welled up. We encouraged the tears, 

A. For the photos to show the true emotion this disease can cause and 
B. Because I’m a firm beleiver in crying being good for the soul and healing the hurt. 

Speaking of the photos too, I would love to hear what you guys thought of the “style” of them. The whole idea of using the confetti and balloons and bright colour card was to show that we look normal, we are visually healthy and happy and at times we are pain free however that doesn’t mean we are ok. It was to show I guess the way people view us. Colourful, happy and bright! I laughed at some of the group photos too and said to Kim that we honestly looked like a cult, like an endo gang that you did not want to mess with haha. 

But back to the point, this video honestly makes me so frikking excited. We now have a tool and something I guess that is powerful to share with those that ever doubt what we go through and battle. Im enjoying hearing your view and what you all think of the video so please, keep it coming. Keep liking and sharing the post because the more we get it out there, the further the reach and the more people we inform! 

This movement is going to be huge and I am so excited that each of you are on this journey with me as your support is what keeps me going! I cannot wait for the day when this is all I do. Helping you all. Yay! Let’s see if we can double the amount of views by next week?! 

Thanks for the support everyone, your all amazing. 

Lots of love and light to you all xxx
Annnnnnnnnnie ❤