I have been so blessed to have worked alongside a charity that is very close to my heart. Aware NI is a mental health charity that supports people who are suffering from depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder. 

After returning to school after the lockdown, it was clear to see that children's mental health was not in a good place. Young children as young as 4 years old were returning to school with very little social interaction and it was up to me as their role model to change this. I knew it was my job to nurture resilience and positivity amongst these children and develop various coping mechanism so that they could feel confident within themselves and able to achieve almost anything to fulfil their dreams. 

Aware NI has enabled me to do that with so many wonderful campaigns they have put in place for primary school children. As the ambassador for their recent campaign, 'Express yourself' - a poetry competition for Year 7 pupils, I knew that this was really going to benefit our young people and open up lots of conversations surrounding mental health in the classroom. 

I am delighted to announce that the top 10 poems have been chosen and I have the absolute pleasure of deciding on the top 3! I am really looking forward to reading these at the weekend and finding out more about the thoughts and feelings that our young people in society are facing today.