Hi, you are “face to face with Shell”.
HOW DO YOU ANSWER PEOPLE WHEN THEY ASK: “WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU”?
Please watch this video and read on:
I hope you enjoyed the video, especially the girl in the bar…soooooo funny!
So, as I said in the video, it has never really bothered me when people ask what has happened to me, except for the girls in the swimming pool. I did forget to say, I did think it was funny (afterwards) when I thought about it, when the young girl said: “Eeeeeeooowwww”, I thought; “well, you were the one that touched me”…lol. Oh and she also asked if I had been born that way; yeah, I was born burned…lol.
Apart from this instance, it has never bothered me when someone asks. This is a personal thing and not everyone will be ok. As our story was in the media, people knew who I was and would ask: “Are you one of the girls that was burned in Spain”? Again, this never bothered me either, as people were only wanting to know how I was doing, which was lovely.
It can be hard if you have an altered body image; if someone does ask me what happened, I just explain briefly that I was burned in a gas explosion when I was younger. If they want to know more, I’ll tell them. If not, I usually explain how lucky I am to be alive because two people were killed in the explosion. This then usually leads onto a good vibe about how precious life is and how we should try to live life to the full.
If you don’t feel comfortable talking about what happened to you, tell the person that is asking that you would rather not talk about it. You are not being rude, you just don’t want to talk about it. This is YOU and YOUR story, and it is YOU that decides whether YOU want to tell it or not. DO NOT feel bad about not telling people.
If the situation feels a bit awkward, you could start talking about what you like to do, the positive things that are in your life.
Or you could give them a tiny amount of information, then say that you would rather not talk about it. You could say that you would rather concentrate on the present and your future, the good in life, and not dwell on the past.
If the person keeps insisting, say: “Excuse me” and just walk away…again, you are not being rude, you are only looking after yourself and this is no way a bad thing.
You can do this, you can get through this.
Stay strong, we’ll chat soon.