I’m going to be honest with you…. This was an extremely hard thing to do… The first time I attempted it, I ended up a mess. I ended up feeling awful for the next week, reliving what I’d been through. But what’s bigger than my pain, is the bigger picture. We need more truth amongst this mediated world. We need real, we need to find the strength in our vulnerability, and I am volunteering myself, as a way of connecting with you, and being completely authentic with you. On the 17th march, 2017, I fell, 3 storeys, or, 10 metres, from a balcony, at a warehouse party, with a corrugated iron fence to cushion the blow. I was in a coma for a week, and I almost didn’t make it. I sustained major trauma - to my brain, complex fractures to my right eye socket, my cheekbones, and my jaw, which changed my appearance. My left wrist, and knee, and I was so close to breaking my c7 vertebra, which would have killed me instantly. The operation took 12 hours. My mind, body, and soul, were crushed, and I was left to pick up the pieces. I was suffering, with anxiety, depression, and with undiagnosed ADHD. I spun out of control. This Josie, the one that lay helpless and small, in a hospital bed, has been eclipsed by the one that speaks to you today. I am passionate, I am insatiable, and I am fearless. I am Josie, I am a talented, 27 year old graphic designer, and artist, with a passion so strong, that sometimes it makes me ill. i’M SO passionate, that I want to help others, just like myself, to grow our community, and make Sydney THE PLACE for graphic design. Since this time, I have created a design community for young designers, I have had the privilege of going on stage at the design conference in Brisbane. I want to be open with you, so you know who I am, and why I’m here, helping you, because I’ve been through the worst, and nothing is going to stop me now. But, not through a lack of blood sweat and tears. I could have sat around feeling sorry for myself, but I work hard in all that I do, and I set out to do, just that. I have invested my time and money into improving my life, with the help of my friend Brody, and put my everything into becoming the best version of myself, and I want to help you grow into the best version of yourself, as I learn. I’m not sharing this story with you, because I believe that what I’ve been through is any more than what you have, but as a way of saying “we have, are currently, and will go through something hard” be it a difficult task, a breakup, serious injury, or leaving the house. I believe bringing balancing our triumphs with our vulnerabilities brings us closer. 50% of people who fall from a height of three storeys, die, 50% live. I lived. Our odds of being born are 1 in 400 quadrillion. We have 1 life, and I am determined to make the most of it. I am here, to give you, the confidence you deserve.
JOSIE BOBER25 JUNE 2019
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