Story
I need a goal in order to motivate myself, so I set myself the goal of running a half marathon in the Somerset Levels on 31st October in order to get rid of my lockdown belly. Then I realised, might as well help others as much as I can with this goal.
I lost a very good friend to Leukemia in May. A friend who fought so bloody hard for so long and who initially beat Leukemia's stupid face.
His name is Jon Barnett (JB), and this is my favourite story about him that I messily wrote just after his death:
At the beginning of 2019, I was very close to giving up on this “trying-to-be-an-actor-in-london” malarkey. I was struggling for work, my confidence was shot, and I was close to moving back to Somerset as it was becoming impossible financially.
I was having a bit of a meltdown, then looked at my phone to find a WhatsApp message. It was from JB. Out of nowhere, he and Rach wanted to give me some money to support my goals/career choice. I have no idea how he knew of my struggles, as I was incredibly private about the worries I was having.
I, after arguing, took the money and had enough to pay that month's rent. A week later I got a job, then another job, and things started to pick up and build momentum. A year and a half later, I haven’t looked back. If it wasn’t for JB making me take that money, I wouldn’t be in London, I wouldn’t have gone on to do the jobs I've done, and I wouldn’t be where I'm at now.
This completely unexpected act of kindness and support really summarises JB. A truly supportive friend, a selfless hard worker, and just a bloody lovely, silly, hilarious man.
A man who continuously and relentlessly sent me encouraging and silly messages and phone calls, even when he was going through the most intense sickness and treatment. I am truly inspired by you JB and I am ever indebted to you for helping me to be where I am now.
Cancer has been a bloody frequent enemy in my life. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was 3, and for the next 21 years has continuously fought numerous other cancers and its life changing and horrible side effects/illnesses. She is now cancer free, but it takes its toll on what should have been a much more normal family life.
This will be hard for me. Not only can road running be a bit hard on me, due to some metalwork in my ankle, but also I have lost a great deal of fitness over quarantine, and I am definitely not in the best of shape. It’s gonna take a lot of daily training and lifestyle changes to get to the fitness level of doing this.
But as JB would say: "Get on then!"
#JellyLegsForJB