finance

'In my old life I was called a dragged-up gutter girl, no hoper, scum.'

Stacey Currie was destined to be another sad statistic: abandoned as a child, homeless as a pregnant teen before struggling to protect her then three kids from her violent relationship. But the message you think you are going to receive when reading this rags to riches tale is not the message you’ll find. Dealing with the harshness of life was not what Stacey found most difficult, it was the people who so harshly judged her along the way.

When I was a teenage mum, I was too young.

When I had my before-baby bikini body, I was a show off and too skinny.

When I had my baby I had stretch marks and was told I looked like I had been beaten with a baseball bat.

When I dressed like a bogan I was a scum.

When I dressed nicely I was full of myself.

Stacey. Image via @staceycurrie16.

When I was a teenage mum on welfare I was a scum bag.

When I built our business I was a self-centered mum.

When I was homeless I was a piece of shit.

When I bought my very first home I thought my shit didn’t stink.

When I had no car it was because I was destined to never get anywhere because I was a teenage mum.

Stacey. Image via @staceycurrie16.

When I lived in violence I was told I didn’t deserve my kids.

When I met a beautiful man and created a violence free home I was told I didn’t deserve such a beautiful man.

When I had no job (I'd resigned from my dream job) I was reminded it’s because I was a teenage mum and all I wanted to do was bludge off welfare.

When I built the business I was threatened that my clients will find out about my past (teenage pregnancy, violence, DHS etc).

In my old life I was called a dragged-up gutter girl, no hoper, scum bag blah blah blah.

In my new life I am now mutton dressed as lamb, bimbo, too obsessed with my looks blah blah blah blah.

And it goes on and on and freaking ON. It never ends...

This my friends is WHY you must do what feels right for YOU, because no matter what you do, no matter how much you try to please people they will not be happy.

If you keep on waiting for other people to like you, you'll be paralysed with fear of what others think of you and NOTHING will change.

As long as you are being the best YOU and it’s not hurting anyone then that is all that matters.

For more images from Stacey's instagram, click through the gallery below.

According to the usual script, Stacey should be living on the streets, in jail, on drugs or dead. She ticks all the boxes when it comes to risk factors, having experienced no mum throughout her life, bought up in housing commission, child sexual abuse, aged 13 and living in a shed, 15 and pregnant, 19 with two babies and homeless, 21 with three kids and living in a domestic violent relationship.
But remarkably Stacey managed to defy the odds in a spectacular way by getting up when everyone had counted her out.  She has gone on to become a successful business owner and international speaker of acclaim.
Stacey is now 36 years old and has five wonderful children, an 18 month old grandson, and a beautiful and supportive partner. She is an author, international speaker, and runs a successful business Brand Print Australia. The most exciting part of Stacey’s life right now is being the official Ambassador for the Lighthouse Foundation and Brave Hearts Inc.
This post originally appeared on StaceyCurrie.com, and was republished here with full permission.

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