If you wouldnโt mind just indulging me...
I need you guys to know just how much these guys above mean to me. I have to write it here because I know for sure Iโll never get the chance to tell them myself.
Maybe one day I will, who knows if the stars will align and Iโll get lucky. But I think we all know the odds are small.
The man on the left pulled me from the brink in 2014. The man on the right pulled me from the brink in June. For totally different reasons, I might add, but neither less important than the other.
Benedict allowed me to be the person I knew I was all along - and be PROUD of it. To give you some back story I have always been, by definition, a geek and a fangirl. When I was at school, I was horribly bullied for it. Ostracised, ridiculed and physically hurt, I left school a shadow of the person I knew I could be, depressed, introverted and harming myself. I spent the following years trying to make myself into someone I wasnโt. I became very good at masking how unhappy I was.
In that time I did find a husband, something I never thought I would ever have given my own lack of self worth, and he remains the constant love of my life. But no matter how much love he gave me (and still does - heโs very forgiving!!), I wasnโt me. Life was black and white - I had no friends, no social life, no reason for being except to go to to work. I cried so much at that time through pure loneliness and frustration.
And then I found Benedict, and his fandom and my life changed infinitely for the better. For the first time since my teens, I wasnโt alone, I found people just like me and I could be who I wanted to be, dress how I wanted to dress, geek out over everything, read and write fanfiction, and most importantly, rediscover my art.
Heโs given me friends for life, a global outlook, confidence... heโll never know it but who knows where Iโd be drifting if it wasnโt for him.
Then thereโs Tom.
Tom got in my good books by happening to be picked to play the superhero Iโd loved all my life. I related so hard to Peter Parker, i wanted to aspire to be Spider-Man (gender norms be damned) and I was thrilled to hear heโd FINALLY be in the MCU.
And then after fangirling over Spidey, I discovered Tom to be a gorgeous, funny, self-effacing, talented wonderful man. Who has all the attributes I admire in Benedict. Sure, Iโm older, but I just think heโs a bright shining light of loveliness. Anyway, I digress.
June 18, 2019. The day I somehow found a voice and told my boss how unhappy i was at work and left. Iโd been struggling with their practices and the toxic atmosphere made it such that I felt sick all day, every day I was there. Not to mention my weight had ballooned to 95kg.
Eventually I was told if I didnโt improve my mood and my KPIโs within ten days i would be put on a performance disciplinary. I handed my notice in there and then, without a job to go to. Mentally and emotionally I was at rock bottom. I felt a complete failure, lost at sea with no way of knowing when it was going to end. Iโve never felt panic, stress, anxiety and sadness like it.
It just so happened Tom and the gang were in London for the FFH press tour and, having been put on gardening leave (where you donโt work your notice period but you get paid for it), I decided to try to give myself a boost and see if I could maybe see him and the cast.
And I did. And I actually met him.
And i took my art with me and he said it was awesome and he signed it and we had a selfie together and he (and Jake G) were just kind and wonderful. He said it was awesome....
I donโt know what would have happened if iโd stayed home that day. I donโt know how far deeper I would have spiralled with my mental health. But I truly believe Tom halted it. Because he gave me hope. Even if I was a failure in everything else in life, he told me my art was awesome and made me feel good about myself again, in a tiny way. Suddenly, everything felt like it was going to be ok.
A month later I got a new job, which Iโm really enjoying. I joined a gym and have already lost 4kg and inches off my body. Everything IS going to be OK. And it all started with him.
If I could tell them both this, I would. I want them to know that their work, their kindness helps people every day, just to get through and to keep going. I want them to know how much I love them for what theyโve done for me - for all of us.
Meet your heroes. Itโs really worth it.




















