Turning adversity into purpose with model & cancer-survivor Jess Quinn

to the right place. I'm your host, Georgie Stevenson. I'm a lawyer turned entrepreneur, co founder of Naked Harvest Supplements, and social media personality with a community of over three hundred thousand. I grew up believing I had to pursue the safe option and fit into a mold others had created for me. But then I entered my corporate law job and I realized that settling for a reality that didn't set my soul on fire was something I.

Rise and Conquer podcast. Today's guest is Jessica Quinn. At the age of nine, Jess was confronted with a diagnosis of bone cancer and as a result, she lost her hair and one of her legs. Jess showed cancer whose boss in two thousand and one and now it is a champion of body diversity and cannot be stopped. Rather than not let this hold her back, she shifted her focus and instead tuned into everything she could do instead of what she couldn't and let me tell you, she

smashed some pretty epic goals. Jess, as a model an advocate changing how women see themselves, am proving that beauty comes in so many different forms. This incredible, resilient and determined woman is a shining example of how our biggest challenges can help us find.

currently in? And so the reason why I want to ask this is seasons is this concept that I talk about a lot of my own social and it's kind of like, you know, are you busy or are you going through a slow season? And I just like to talk about this because I think sometimes when you're in it, it can feel very like there's no way out, or you're always going to be busy or you're always going to be slow. So I just like to talk about it because I think it's a good reminder that we're

constantly changing and evolving. So tell us, Jess, what season are you currently in?

at the moment, I'm in a season of healing. It looks different every day, but it's helped me to recognize that I am in a state of healing right now, so I have to take the good with the bad. I've been dealing with a bit of of injuries in and around the stuff that I deal with every day, which I'm sure we're going to get into in a little bit. But yeah, so I unfortunately it's been a year and a half long season, so it's late living through a really long winter that you're hoping will end soon,

but knowing it's just a season. And when I look back on my life, I've had multiple seasons like this, and I know that they've all ended and there's been a beautiful summer at the end of all of those seasons. So yeah, I'm the same as you. I like to look at it in that light. But yeah, season of healing.

based in LA. Took me a while to get a visa that I eventually got that so I decided to make the transition to giving life a go up there, but kind of realized that I still have a lot of work and a lot of commitment that I love in New Zealand, So I kind of live between New Zealand and LA at the moment. I'm currently in a state of extending my flight and my trip home by the week, which is quite funny. So I'm in a

bit of a limbo. But in terms of my work, I work obviously as a model, I do a lot of social media stuff that all kind of blew up for me about three years ago, very unexpectedly, just I did a photo shoot that ended up going viral and found me with a following and having to learn how to navigate the world of social media that I knew nothing about. I do public speaking. I do a mixture of other projects that I'm working on that I'm sure

we'll also get into a bit later. But most of my life is in and around helping people understand that different is okay, that we're all different, and that I think the one thing we all have in common as humans is that we are different. Yet we've lived in a society that projects perfection, especially I believe, for women. So that's something I'm trying to break down at the moment. I lost my leg to cancer as a kid, so I grew up feeling very different from anyone I knew,

from anyone I saw in the media. So I wanted to, I guess, spend my life trying to fight that change, because as they got older, I realized that even my friends or people I knew who had two legs grew up feeling different in some way. Because of what they would have gone through. So I realized that it's really normal and in our experiences in and around that just different. So yeah, it's become my life mission to normalize diversity, and yeah, to help people understand that different it's okay.

And also, I guess help others through their journey through adversity, because we all face adversity in our life, whether it's the loss of the job that we really wanted, or it's losing our leg to cancer. You know, there's the spectrums massive and we all face this unexpected adversity at different times, and it's learning how to, I guess, grow through it and live through it and see it as an opportunity to grow opposed to kind of a roadblock in life. So yeah, that's kind of a really long

winded answer to what I do. But unfortunately I don't have the simple I'm in marketing kind of answer. I kind of wish I did.

two sisters. I'm in the middle of both of them, so we grew up, you know, playing teachers, playing mothers and fathers and bossing us, bossing each other around, and yeah, I had amazing family life. I'm still really grateful that I still have an amazing family life. So yeah, life for me was pretty I guess you could say normal. I grew up in New Zealand, which I feel like the luckiest person in the world to grow up in a country that's beautiful and the safe, so I'm very

grateful for that. And then, yeah, life took a massive, unexpected turn in the matter of a moment.

fractured my femur bone. Which is supposed to be the strongest bone in your body, and mine snapped doing something pretty routinely simple. But the doctors didn't discover the cancer for about four months. So I was stuck in a wheelchair and plaster trying to heal a broken leg, and I just wanted to get back to life and like

run around with my friends. And I was like, oh, this broken leg sull annoying, you know, And then it just wouldn't go away in terms of I went into rehab to try heal, and I was in so much pain. And then I think kind of red flag started to arise when they realized that my break was quite weird in the first place, and then the fact that I was still in pain. So they started to investigate, and they found in osteosarcoma, which is a form of bomb

cancer that was living in my femur bone. We don't know for how long, but that's what had I guess caused my bond to break in such a kind of simple way. So yeah, then I did nine months of chemotherapy, so I lost my hair. On the day of my surgery.

I waited about eighteen kilos so I had a feeding tube in my nose because I just couldn't stomach food, and when I could stomach food, I couldn't keep it down, and you know all the other symptoms of chemotherapy, like my mouth was covered in ulcers, which also stopped me eating. So yeah, I lost a lot of weight, I lost my hair. I looked like it could going through cancer basically, and yeah, life changed very quickly. And then they told me that they would have to antutate my leg. It

was the only way to save my life. The chemo hadn't really shrunk it like like we had hoped, so it was all quite obviously scary and strange, and even more scary because the amputation that I had was I was one of the first in New Zealand to have that surgery. It was a fourteen hour surgery. It's called a rotation plasty. I won't explain it because it's really hard to wrap your head around, but if you're interested, I highly recommend googling because your mind will be blowing

how that works. But yeah, I had the surgery. I remember being really scared being wailed into the theater about to have my leg amputated. But I think also in hindsight, I don't think I rarely knew what was going on completely. You know, you know the facts, you know you're about to lose your leg, but when you're nine, you know a year is a really long time. Therefore, you don't know the implications of what you're going through is going

to have on your future. So that didn't really hit me until I was probably an intermediate, so kind of early teens. But yeah, obviously I was scared and all of that. But I'm also forever grateful that I went through what I did at the age that I did, because A I had the resilience to just get back up and get on with life, and I didn't overthink things. I was just like, I've got one league, now let's

learn how to use it. Whereas, had it happened to me at kind of the age i'm at now or in my late teens, I think it would have been a lot harder because you kind of know too much, and as an adult or a young team, we kind of or a late team, we have kind of there instilled in us, whereas I don't believe we have that as kids. So it really helped me kind of just get up and get on with life.

my future. I remember having a really morbid thought. I got into a really dark place and I remember thinking, like, wow, I'm literally going to die one day and I'm still going to have one leg, you know, like it just that's so morbid. But it just really hit me how this was permanent. You know, this is forever, and if I have children one day, I'm going to have to explain it to them, and like, you know, all of that kind of stuff. I just saw it. I saw

the bigger picture and all of this. I didn't just see it then what I was going through at the time anymore. And it all I guess my struggles with it all started from a place of body image. So I was thirteen, my my girlfriends at school were starting to wear mini skirts and starting to flirt with boys and all of this kind of stuff, and I, especially because of the nature of the surgery I had, it

was hugely unusual looking. Therefore, I didn't wear shorts for the first kind of eight years and what I like to call me new life. So I didn't wear shorts until I was kind of just leaving high school, which is crazy to think about now, given I live in shorts all day long, and it's actually I hate wearing jeans. They're very annoying, but you know, it's just kind of

become a normality. But I went through this phase where I just wanted to kind of hide away, and I was super confident during the day, and a lot of people, even my parents, didn't even really notice how much I

was struggling. But it was something I was really internalizing, and I'd let it out at night, and I'd get really upset when i'd go to bed, and I kept asking myself, you know, why me, Why did I have to go through this, And why can't my life just be simple and easy and then, yeah, I took about probably a good two to three years before I came out the other end. And I remember saying to myself one night, I was like, cancer has taken so much from me already, I can't let it take my happiness.

And I knew that I think I needed to go through that process of grief, I guess, and I had to just get on with life because i'd already, you know, nearly lost it. I was grateful to have the lack that I had, so I needed to find a way to make the most of it because my situation wasn't changing. So yeah, I kind of faked a smile and got on with it, which sounds kind of weird, but I just thought I should try on being confident. I just started to become more comfortable in my own skin, even

if I didn't truly feel it. And then one day it wasn't until later on I realized once I was an other interview actually, and I realized that I told the lady, I was like, I wouldn't change what I went through even if I had the choice. And that's when I realized that that confidence had really kind of stuck.

And I hope this is right. You said you didn't wear shorts for eight years, and then when you look back on high school, you had a lot of issues like body image issues in comparison issues, and I know that's very prevalent in young girls, but I couldn't imagine too how you felt. So let's get into that more. And I know that you just said that it did sort of come a time when you were like, look,

I can't let cancer take any more from me. Can you kind of tell us a little bit more about that and your experience with those issues and how you did sort of cope with them.

be able to make myself happy. So I one day I wasn't planning on wearing shorts and a lot of the stuff I've thought about in recent times, I didn't even know I was doing it at the time, you know. Like I would go to a party, whether it was a family gathering with extended friends, or it was a social gathering with my girlfriends or whatever, a party that

would go to as a team. But I found myself if I was having a conversation with someone knew I was slightly hiding behind a piece of furniture, like I would almost have my prosthetic like slightly to the side, so they wouldn't ask questions and they wouldn't see it, and I think that was even though I was happy to talk about it, it was a way of me just trying to let it go and trying to forget about it. And also just people do not notice. I. The nature of my surgery left my legs super, super skinny,

and I started to grow. Obviously, I was turning into a woman. And I would wake up every day and I would wrap socks around my leg I would wrap t shirts and then I would put sports bandages off the top and then masking tape just to make it look like I had a thigh so I could wear skinny jeans. And I would do that every single day. And then I was lucky that I got a prosthetic to kind of make that process a lot easier. But even through that process, I realized, you know, I can't

live like this. I can't just you know, keep trying to make my body look like Then word normal was always in my head, and I was like, what is this normal that I'm trying to reach, you know? And then one day I was at a girlfriend's house. There was a group of us really growth close friends, and it was a super hot summer's day and they were like, Jess, you want to borrow a pair of shorts, like GE's so hot out. We were just sitting up on the grass catching up and I was like, okay, yeah whatever.

You know, it was really daunting for me, but I thought, you know, it's just my girlfriends, why not. So I put on a pair of shorts and they kind of thought nothing of it. But I just felt this massive relief and I felt so good about myself. I felt like I didn't even care anymore that people would look I just, you know, I realized that I was the one that had been holding myself back. So from that point forward, I kind of I just let it go.

I just started wearing shorts and people would stare at me, as they still do every single day, but it doesn't affect me anymore because I know people are just interested, they're not malicious, and at the end of the day, this is the body that I live in. And something else that really really helped me, which has been in a more recent time since I've been signed as a model.

But I first flew up to LA with my modeling agency about maybe two or three years ago, probably two years ago, and my modeling agent, she said they work with a lot of models who are diverse and they work with plus those models or people who are different and kind of I guess, different from the mainstream models

that we've been used to. And she decided to put a group of us together and I didn't actually know, but we all were told to wear denim shorts and a white T shirt and turn up to the photo show. And all of the girls that were at that photo shirt, she told me later, for some reason, had grown up not wanting to wear shorts, and to that day, some of them, that was their first day they'd put on a pair of dinnim shorts because they didn't like the size of their legs, or they had a scar on

their leg or whatever it was. And that was the most incredible thing for me to realize that I was kind of united with these people who had all had the same experience as me, but for different reasons. And it made me, I guess, it just hit me in the face, being like, you know, we all have insecurities, we all feel different in some way for different reasons, and that was really cool to just feel I guess that I wasn't alone in that.

with my healing process. I've been having issues with my leg as I mentioned it at the beginning, and I realized that the story I've been telling myself is like, regardless of the issue that I'm having, it's there. It's a physical way know what's happening. But I've been making it worse because I've been telling everyone all day long on my social media, I talk about it, I talk to specialists about it. I've gotten in a negative state

of mind about it. So I've decided to strip back and I only do the odd update here and they're on social media about it now. Because I realized I was kind of living more in the state of negativity than I wanted to, which is, you know, it doesn't help your body or your mind. So I think it's hugely important to notice how we're speaking to ourselves and kind of try to change that narrative a little bit.

just I don't care anymore. Like I'm so sick of hiding and feeling like crap, and so I just literally one day I just decided. I was like, I'm not going to live in the state of letting me control my mood and all that sort of stuff. And since then and kind of just making that decision, like when I get a callser I'm like, okay, cool, Like it's not like I love it, but it's all like it's all.

different bodies. But at the same time, I think we're still regardless focusing on our bodies. And it's like I don't look in the mirror with my leg off and take a photo. Or I do take a photo, but I don't look in the mirror and I don't go, oh, that is the sexiest or the coolest leg I've ever seen. I don't have to feed it this like cheesy positive message, but I have to live in that body. And I think that's what's really important, you know. I just I don't have to love it, but I don't have to

stop myself from living because of it, you know. And I think that's really important. I don't think we have to look at our cellulight and go, oh, that's the coolest cellu light I've ever seen, you know, But just don't stop yourself living your life because of it. Just put on the shorts, get out of the house, and like, know that your body's so much more important than how it looks.

me as much. So one hundred percent like taking almost just the emphasis of even looks in general and not having to love it, but just being like, okay, it's there, all good, totally agree, Okay, amazing.

I actually ended up it was I won't get too much into it because we'll probably take up the whole podcast, but it was kind of a huge part of my discovery of really coming into my body and being confident in my body. I remember we had to do a thesis in our last year of UNI before postgrad, and

we could write on anything we wanted. So I decided to write on the idea of prosthetics and fashion and how prosthetics are kind of the space for people who don't have a limb that they actually have the ability to fill with whatever they want. It could be a piece of art, it can be anything. You know, ideally it's something that walks okay, but it's something you know, I could draw and I can do anything I want.

And so I did this piece on that, and I remember for my study I had to bring in one of my prosthetics instead it on my desk, and that was the most daunting thing of my life to walk down the street holding a prosthetic leg, because at that time they was still reasonably self conscious about it, but I did it, and that was kind of the beginning of me Like now I just carry my legs around like this, I walk up to it. I would arrive at a fotosure it with two legs in my hand

because it's just my life. Like it's just been quite cool to see that process. But UNI was definitely a huge self discovery in that sense. But yeah, fashion, I even left UNI, I had done fashion prosthetics for my post grad I was going to kind of launch that into a business. But still in the back of my mind, I was like, no, you went, do you need to

do fashion? You're going to make a collection? You know how you get stuck in that kind of thought process that you have to do what you studied at UNI and what you've always wanted to do your whole life. And then I was working in the field in fashion and product for about two years and within that time I got a running blade prosthetic, which is like like

what the Paralympians would run in. And being deep down, I've always been the active person that I was born with as but I just kind of unfortunately got put in a body later on that couldn't move in the way that I wanted to be able to move on the inside, and I fell in love with the gym.

I tried so many team sports, but I was always just held back, and I fell in love with the gym because it was a place where I could compete with myself and I could work on my abilities and be able to find things that I could do instead of constantly being showing things that I can't do. And the only thing that was missing after all of that was running. So I got this running blade and attempted

to run. And that's a whole nother story in itself, but that running blade was a whole nother process in my confidence because I'd become confident in the leg that I have. But if you've seen my social media, it looks much like a leg. Therefore it wasn't as confronting as the blade as it looks nothing like a leg. It's a carbon fiber tick. So putting that alcohol it is, it's so cool. I'm like, kind of I felt bad for people that don't get to wear one because they're

so cool. So while I was learning to run in that leg, I realized how Court was and a friend of mine, he's a photographer and my girlfriend at the time worked in IKE, so she gave me some clothes and I was like, I couldn't do a photo shirt. I had this kind of half idea that it would be kind of cool to get a modeling agency because I it was really sad that young people were still growing up in a world where this perfection was everywhere.

This was about three years ago and the body image movement wasn't as big as it is now, and I just had the stream. I was like, I want a kid walking to school to see someone like myself on a billboard, and they might not even have one leg, but it might make them feel better about whatever their insecurity was. So I thought, we'll do a photo shirt ate for fun, and maybe I'll send them to an agency and see if anyone wanted to sign me. And

I put them on the photos on my Instagram. When they came back, I think I had just under a thousand followers at the time. It was just like friends and family. I posted purchase of my dog and web

filters on my photos. Knew nothing about social media and had zero plans and doing anything with it, and then within about a week the photo went completely viral and I got about ten thousand followers of a Night and then I think about seventy thousand within three months and ended up leaving my job and kind of I was kind of making enough as an influence, if you like, keep the world it. So I was like, I'm going

to give this a shot. And I'd kind of thought nothing about the modeling thing, and they just moved on with life. And life got pretty crazy in those two years, with the opportunities I got and the way my following kept growing and the way my story was resonating with

people around the world. And then I had a modeling agency slide into my DMS Natural Models in LA and I kind of thought it was a bit of a you know, you always get those spam emails of people wanting you to join their agency, and I thought it was another one of those, And then I looked into them and they jumped on a call and I realized the owner was Katie Wilcox, who's an incredible plus as model. She's an amazing woman who I'd already looked up to.

So yeah, I got signed to them. So it was quite funny now being on the other side of the industry. So I dabbled in a little bit of modeling and then now that my visa has come through and doing a lot more modeling. I've walked New Zealand Fashion Week. I've walked Melbourne Fashion Week last year, which was a massive moment for me. I just did the latest Bras and Things campaigns, so myself and a couple of other incredible models in our underwear all over the malls in

Australia and New Zealand, which is quite daunting. But yeah, it's been a massive process and I've learned so much through it. I'm still trying to juggle both my life as a speaker, an influencer and a brand ambassador, as well as the modeling. But yeah, it all kind of goes hand in hand, which is really cool.

free and refined sugar free. Get ready to feel energized and strong. Join the NH game and feel free to use Rise and Conquer at checkout for a sneaky fifteen percent discount. Okay, let's get straight back into the episode.

social media a lot first, which is awesome. But let's chat about the industry regarding our photo shoots and retouching images and showing diverse bodies. And I know, I know things are changing and things are getting better, but what are your thoughts and do you still think there's a long way to go or yeah, let's talk about that.

body image movement because that's why they've hired me. Because I have one leg, you know, it's quite obvious, so I'm not as exposed as another model, I guess, but I'm also very woke to it. If you like it, so I noticed it straight away, which is where my ted talk came from. I had an image of my photoshot.

So I did Dancing with the Stars in New Zealand about eighteen months ago, and after doing that, I did a photo shoot with a woman's magazine, kind of talking about my story and all of that kind of stuff. And we did a shoot and I was wearing active wear and it got printed in the magazine and I was like, cool girl, you look great. Didn't really think much of it. Obviously, the lighting had been, you know, ant,

which is totally normal. I understand that. And then I asked for the images for my visa application and they weirdly sent me two folders. One was the images that I'd seen in the magazine and one was another folder that said unedited. And I felt like I was opening like a secret volt or something. I was like, water us in here. And turns out I'd been largely photoshoped, and I was like, damn, I don't look as good as I thought I did. But no, I actually take

that back. I still looked at those images, and this is the biggest problem with it was I had actually gone to that shirt that day feeling great. I'd just done three months dancing on TV. I was feeling really good about myself. Yet someone still felt the need to photoshop me, to change my body and to point out insecurity as I didn't even know I had like they would remove. They removed half of my moles, but not

all of them. It's like you can have some sunspots, but you've got a little bit too many girls, Like, let's just tone it back a little bit and just kind of taking control in that way. And my skin was perfectly smooth. My active web did not budge into my skin at all. I had flush skin, which I think if you have zero percent body fat is still impossible. So I just yeah, it kind of stirred something in me, and I sat on it for a while, and then some got put through the grapevine and some media reached

out to me. And I wasn't going to take it to the media, but I ended up doing that and it started a massive conversation. Then I decided to run a petition to get the rules that ideally get a law in and around photoshopping that it had to be disclosed if a model was photoshopped, much like we have warnings on a cigarette packet because I believe that it's hugely detrimental to the mental health of humans. And yeah, we got over ten dozand signatures and I'm just going

through the process now of where to take that. But so that's been kind of a long time. So within those two years, I've seen a lot of changes because a lot of people are starting to speak up about it now within the industry. So a lot of brands.

You know, when I work with a brand, I say, hey, just to let you know, like, I'm not going to work with you if you're going to photoshop my images, and a lot of people, Bras and things is a good example, came back and I kind of wrongly just assumed that they photoshopped the images before I signed onto the camp and they came back and we're like, oh no,

we don't use photoshop. We only kind of just lighting we needed, or change the color of a garment if it doesn't perfectly match what it should be, et cetera, et cetera. So that's been really awesome to see that some people are already taking that initiative within themselves to

show people exactly as they are. And then there's kind of the other end I still get DMS from people like women who have got their wedding photos back and they've been completely photoshopped, and they're like, I don't know what to do, Like what do I say? And I'm like, oh my goodness. So it goes a lot further than we think, because you know, that's just someone's wedding photos. They don't retouch those. But yeah, I mean retouching is only one part of it. I think we're still in

a place where we're still demanding diversity. But I think that's the best thing we can do. Like it's up to the consumer to demand it, and you can demand it by supporting the brands that you know live or I guess portray the message how you want it to be portrayed.

and people just started to feel better. They were like, oh, she has cellulate too, Like oh, even the Victoria Secret models have cellulate, or you know, when her body moves, it does move, you know, And I think it just it normalizes everything. I think we don't even know how much the effect everything has had on us. It's you know, in May talk talk about how most of the I think it's something like eight percent of a campaign's message makes its way to our conscious brain, and the rest

we rework in our brains. So we're seeing a campaign and where they're going up. That didn't affect me. I didn't care that her stomach was dead flat, or she had a sick back or whatever it was. But we don't actually know that we are reworking that and then comparing ourselves to that deep in our brain. And so it's just having a massive effect. And I think we've got into a place, especially as woman, where we've always been put in this light where we have to be perfect.

And all the photo shirts of women as they're happy and they're smelling and their life is perfect while they're vacuuming the floor, and you know what I mean, It's always been like that, and I think that's why women are so stuck in this place where appearance has become what's important. And I think women should have the opportunity

to do whatever they want in their life. And if they're constantly growing up being focused on on the way they look or thinking that that's what's important, then they're never going to reach their short of potential. So I wanted to break that down and just the simple fact of I spent eight years not wearing shorts because I was afraid of what people would would think of me, and I was afraid of comparing. I have compared myself

to others, which made me afraid of that. Whereas if a young girl, you know, I posted something on my Instagram yesterday and a young girl had compared herself to me in the way that I loved that she compared herself to me because she knew that her ownsecurities were

okay as well. And that's the effect that I'm hoping this movement has is that people can look at all different types of bodies and that woman of all colors, all sizes or shapes, all abilities are represented in the media so that young people can grow up and somewhat see themselves out there in the world.

but you could mute them. But you know, I think if someone's not filling your cup up in the way that you want it to be filled, or it's not making you feel good, or you're finding yourself thinking negatively after you've been on social media, unfollow people. I do mass unfollows every now and again, so I go through everyone I'm following and I just get rid of people because sometimes we forget who's actually popping up all of

the time. So if things aren't making you feel good, and also kind of a look like I Also, social media has been really scary, and I learn a lot of this through the research I did in an around my petition, because it's one thing to change this in a mainstrea level, because that's really easy, reasonably easy to change mainstream media, But to change the rules and image and social media, because we don't have control over what someone does, it's scary and I think it's almost having

a worse effect because someone's face tuning a photo of them sitting at a cafe having a coffee with their girlfriends, and we just assume that that's everyday life, that they look like that in everyday life, but they've chosen to

sit on their best angle. They've whitened their teeth, they've I don't know, filter in the little bald patch and their ponytail whatever it is like, it's I don't know where that came from, but you know it's like this we think it's it's even like these filters and stories like that make you look somewhat perfect. I weirdly look uglier and those filters so they don't work for me, but you know, you kind of forget that that's not how people look. People don't have skin that's perfectly poor free,

Everyone has pause, it's normal. So I think just yeah, noticing those things is really important. And if you still like following that person, follow them, but notice that their skin looks like that because of this, you know, And then in a mainstream level, I think it's supporting the brands that are making the changes that you want to see. So perfect example is Victoria Secrets. They're no longer doing what they're doing because people stop supporting them. People weren't

agreeing with their messages. Their views in the Victoria's Secrets show plumited because people didn't want to support that anymore. Whereas brands like Ari, which is an American brand has skyrocketed because they're not retouching their images and they're doing things that the consumer want to see. So support those brands, buy from those brands, and yeah, support the people who are living that message. I think is the best way that we can kind of keep creating change.

I notice because my leg doesn't grow. So therefore, if I my leg gets muscly or I put on wait or whatever, it is one of my sides, like my prosthetic is going to be smaller or vice versa. So it's really easy for me to start comparing myself, even to myself, because I notice it. But I've just learned to just let it go, like to know that, Okay, today is a bad day, probably about to get my period. That's why I'm extra grumpy, you know, And I just learned that. Okay, as you said at the beginning, it's

a season that I'm in right now. I'm just not feeling the best. But in those moments, I just try and I don't look in the mirror. I don't spend time focusing on that. I try to distract myself and like I'll go to the gym and I'll do something to remind myself that what's important is what I'm able to do in my body, not the way that I look. Like sure, my thigh right now is the size of when I was sixteen, because I haven't been able to remold it. But I can go to the gym, I

can do all of these things. So it gives it a shit that might sorry I just for who cares that my thigh isn't the right size. So I think it's learning to catch yourselves in those moments and also knowing that it's okay to have those moments. We're human, all of us. We are going to have moments where we compare, but just I guess trying to step back and see the bigger picture and all of that.

know it's just a season. I know it will pass, and it certainly hasn't been easy, and so I want to chat about why you think it's quite important to acknowledge these bad days and be okay with it. Can you go into that a little bit more and if that's been a part of.

always been the way that I look at life. And I think that that was in me before I went through what I went through, because I think my parents are just really positive people, so that's naturally the way I look at life. But also obviously what I went through strength and that even more. I mean, I faced a life or death situation when I was nine, Like, obviously that's going to change my perspective on life. But it also was hard because I lived in the state

of Oh I'm strong. I have to be strong. People love it when I'm strong. I'm positive all the time kind of state for so long that it wasn't until my recent major hiccup than life the day or season, that I realized that it's actually okay to not be strong. Like it doesn't mean you're a weak person. It means that you're going through a season of time where maybe you need to ask for help, or you need to reach out to someone, or you need to just find

some slow in your life. So that process in itself was really important for me, and I think I don't think that people who follow me realize how much they actually helped me through that, because you know, they helped me have a platform where I could just be myself, which was really cool. So that in itself has been a learning and a process, and I've become better at just sitting and not being okay, and I think that's important.

And then the reason I like to put it out in the world is because we all know and social media is constantly criticized for projecting this perfect life this I live, this is my perfect morning routine and all this kind of stuff, and I like to show people that, like the days are really crap sometimes, and it could be something as small as your boss, one thing to

you that can throw you over the edge. But it really scares me that someone out there could be really struggling with their mental health and they could have a day where they just don't know if they can hold it together, and then they see someone like myself and they're like, Oh, she's having a perfect day though, when in reality I'm probably not. And the reality of social media, even for someone like myself who puts out a very raw content, I share my bad days, I share my

good days. I'm still only sharing five percent of my life because I don't have a camera follow me around all the time. I might jump on stories twice a day, so you're seeing the smallert snippet of my life. So I wanted to make sure people knew that as well as the good days I have, there is also bad days, and I think it just kind of normalizes the experience of life that we all go through, you know. So yeah, I think it's important to be raw. I don't think everyone.

I think there's also a movement at the moment where everyone thinks they have to tell their deepest, darkest stories because to kind of click baity these days. But too, I don't feel like people you don't have to do that if it isn't what feels right to you. But I think just knowing that there are people out there, I guess watching your evory move, so it's really important to inspire them in a way that they can I guess resonate with maybe.

I'm doing air quotes. You can't say me, we need days in these hard days, because it's definitely what makes you grateful and realize when you do have a good day and you are feeling your best.

better in my day, you know what it's like. It's like sometimes like for me, like I did this post and I learned I heard I try everything because I'm trying to faxt my body at the moment. And I heard that cabbage was really good for swelling. People put it on their breasts when their breastfeeding to get the swelling down. So I wrapped it on my amputation and put glad wrap around and took a photo and I

was like, this is what healing. What it's like healing is trying the weird, whacky stuff that you see on the internet and hoping it works. It's not always meditation and yoga, you know. So I think that's also really important to share with people.

because you're comparing yourself. And then I guess it's understanding that process that the person you're comparing themselves to is also comparing themselves to someone else. So yeah, I honestly I know that it's so simple, but I just, I mean, my worsh in life is to just know that. Its like, have everyone know that they are enough because we all are.

trying to listen to my body. I find that really motivating, which is probably really cheesy, but I find that really helpful, you know. And also I don't know, I just have like a get up and get over it kind of editude.

cheesy as it is. If I'm in a really bad place, I look back on old photos from when I was sick, and I share them every now and again all my stories, and I think people are starting to notice, like, okay, dress isn't a bit of a low wash just litter sittle, you know, because I kind of go through the sad moment and then I get this like wave of motivation and everything feels better because I know that days can

be worse than they are right now. So yeah, I think I would have normally answered with like a list of people, but I think in the last year I've really learned to look within for motivation instead of outside. I love that and that not that I like think I'm the best person on the planet, but it just helps me.

it with them. You can also find more on Instagram at Risinconcor dot podcast and more from me your hosts at Georgie Stevenson. Once again, guys, thank you so much for tuning in. This is a totally independent podcast, so we really do appreciate every bit of support. Hope you guys have an amazing day or night whenever you're listening, and I'll talk to you soon.