"Before Tomorrow’s People, I felt quite alone without anyone older to really talk to. I had a lot of problems at home where other people were involved. It made me feel worse as everything was kept quiet. I felt very angry and misunderstood and when there were incidents at school I realised that the problem had to be solved. It was hard for me to turn to anyone as I had spent so much time hiding and not showing the way I really felt inside, even with those closest to me.
I also felt frustrated as I had no idea what I wanted to do in the future and it felt like the time was nearing where I had to start thinking about that. As my family life wasn’t going too well, I couldn’t talk to my parents about it. It was a constant battle with them for me to do anything. Although honestly I could say that the biggest battle that I faced was with myself as I was blaming myself for many things from the past, and I could not seem to move on or find ways to solve it. I was depressed and it was even more frustrating that no one knew what was really going on with me, and even though I needed the help, I was very reluctant to get it. All the other organisations that I had been referred to had failed to help me and made me feel even worse about myself; so many strangers knew about my personal life but yet had not gotten to know the real Aisha.
However when I got involved with Tomorrow’s People, they gave me so many skills that I felt I was lacking in order to help me sort out my future. I feel like they have helped me to grow mentally and emotionally and they are helping me to become the woman that I want to be. For me the toughest conflict I had was with myself, I've learnt to accept myself for who I am but I have also learnt from my mistakes. I've come to terms with accepting that I have made wrong decisions but that I can move on and learn from them. There is always room for improvement as no one is perfect but I thank my coaches for given me the encouragement that I needed to keep growing and becoming a better person."
Portrait // Aisha, Homerton, London. 17.