What does it mean to be strong?

This is the final post that I'll be making in this series, and it's probably the one that I find most important. Strength is something which none of us seem to think we have, particularly as women. We have this idea that our reserve of strength is so small and if something bad or upsetting were to happen, we would never cope. But that's just not true.

Strength, to me, means supporting yourself. If you can go through hell and pick yourself back up and carry on, that's the ultimate sign of strength. There are so many of us that, whether we know it or not, find it easier to rely on others to hold us up or just plaster over the issue, and I'll be the first to hold my hands up and say that I was guilty of this for a long time. But what takes real strength is looking after yourself and holding yourself up, facing your issues without fear, whilst also asking for help but only when you need it. 

The reason I left this particular theme until last, is because this is a trait which I wish more women could find in themselves. Every single one of you reading this (and not just women) are strong in ways you couldn't imagine, and if you believe it you can genuinely accomplish anything.

As per usual, the women I have selected for this are the women that I think best fit the category, but I also have some extremely special women who will be featuring and that includes my mum and my nan. 

I've been so fortunate to have been raised by such strong women, and with Mother's Day coming up, I'm further reminded how lucky I am to have such powerful role models. Both of them take no nonsense from anyone, they stand on their own two feet and genuinely inspire me and those around them every single day. 

My mum had to go through the awful nightmare of losing her mum when she was only 21. I know this was extremely painful for her and that this pain has not gone away, but the way she has dealt with it and gone on to be such an amazing mum, wife, friend and granddaughter is honestly incredible. 

My nan is now 95 (she's actually my great nan) and she had to live through World War II, losing her first husband, and father to her child (my great-grandfather) during the war and at a very young age. They had known each other from birth and had been childhood sweethearts who married at just 18 years old. 

She has known so much loss in her lifetime - friends, partners, siblings and most significantly, her daughter (my mum's mum) whose death left a massive hole in our family and I can't imagine how hard it was for my nan. Still, she continues to hold the family up and carries on being strong, even now, when she's recently fought cancer, heart failure and is now dealing with dementia. 

I am so proud to know these women, and I hope what they have to say can inspire you to find your inner strength:

Leri Francis: I never really knew what it meant coming from other people for a long time, because how could they tell I was strong? How do they not see I'm struggling to function 90% of the time? But in the last few months, I've now realised just how strong I am. I am resilient to whatever life throws at me. 

Being strong is no matter how bad you're feeling, to keep on pushing - even if sometimes that's the hardest route to take. Being strong is speaking out and carrying a torch for someone who can't be here to carry it themselves. It's being a friend, a daughter, a sister, a student and being yourself no matter the circumstances. And although some of these things are only small, the power it takes to do just one of them, has so much strength attached to it. 

Pat Foxton: Being a strong woman in today's society is not to be afraid to travel life's rocky road, sometimes alone. But I always try to be my own woman. Knowledge is a powerful tool which has helped me to take on new and exciting challenges. However, I treasure my friends and loved ones and try when needed to give a helping hand and a willing ear. 

Samantha Thompson (my mum): Just to make it clear, I am by no means physically strong! I have trouble these days lifting my shopping. I have learnt that being strong comes more from within. 

Dealing with the 'not so nice' things in life that come your way, and being able to work through them, overcome them and hopefully learn from them. 

I have definitely faced some difficult times in my life, my Nan with dementia, having a baby that would only sleep for 20 mins at a time for 9 months (yes, Ashleigh, that is you!) financial hardship, seeing your children hurting emotionally, and the hardest of all, the loss of my mum. 

I remember thinking I would never get through it, and for a time I didn't want to, but then something within you begins to fight. Before you realise, you are back in the world and a whole lot stronger. I know I am lucky because I come from a long line of strong women and I am very pleased that my incredible daughter has also inherited this strength and she continues to show me every day. 

Ellen Deborah Spinks (my nan, known by most as Nannie Deb): Picking yourself back up, that's what you have to do and that's what I'm trying to do today. You've got to try to push on because you can't do anything else. Life goes on.