Joining the fire service has been one of the biggest and most important steps in my life, I never thought for one second I would ever get the opportunity to work for an emergency service that is so well respected.
I was the kid who messed about too much, the teenager who was a little bit naughty.
At 21 I grew my hair long and jumped out of planes for fun, I was the person who really didn't want to be like that boring member of society.
Joining the fire service has been extremely tough, alot harder than anything I've ever done before, it's literally made me sweat and cry. I've had sleepless nights with my mind going into overdrive with getting my head around the physical and mental side of the job.
I spent 3 weeks training for the breathing apparatus side of the job, the most dangerous side of it and I really struggled mentally and physically, I didn't believe I was good enough or smart enough, so each day I had self doubt to the point that I failed the breathing apparatus side of the job. I was given 3 options, one was to resign there and then, two was to appeal the decision of not passing or three was to apply for another place later in the year. I felt like crying, I've come so far, so much further than I ever expected, I said I haven't come this far to just come this far so I'd like to apply for another BA course. My positive attitude influenced the instructors to come to the decision to allow me to carry on with my course, RTC side of it, then I would be allowed to attend emergency calls but not wear breathing apparatus.
A development plan has been put in place for me for extra training before my next course in June.

I have experienced an issue with the short time with the fire service which has made me come to a decision that I never thought I'd come to or never wanted to come to, I feel extremely sad about it, especially since its the only thing I've ever liked about my self.
If you haven't already guessed, my hair, it's a hindrance to the job. My helmet doesn't fit properly, the face mask doesn't fit well to my face. Getting the kit on fast and efficiently is slowed down by my hair, so I have 2 choices, I walk away from the service or I cut it off and follow something that I thought would only ever be dream.
I've decided that despite everything I've said and thought about never cutting my hair, I'm going to say goodbye to it.

This last year has been absolutely crazy, it's been a year that many of us could of never imagined, many people have lost their loved ones and many people have their jobs and livelihoods. Peoples mental health is absolutely shot, I've never known so many people who on their knees.
For me it's been a really positive year, with career changes I never expected.
So if I'm going to cut my hair I want to do it charity I've chosen 2 charities so I will split what sponsor's I get, a charity called mind which supports mental health and a charity called the firefighters charity who support injured firefighters