In this interview series we feature the stories of chronic illness warriors around the world, we shine a light on various chronic illnesses and the amazing humans who deal with them daily. The aim is to raise awareness as well as celebrate the ways in which our fellow warriors overcome the limits placed on them.

Today I have the privilege of sharing Laura Morningstar's A Day In My Life interview here on Chronically Hopeful. Laura is a warrior who battles against multiple chronic illnesses daily. She has a lovely blog where she writes about health and fitness, books, family, music and more. 

It's time for another personal update. Time to reassess and set realistic goals. This month has been so much harder than I anticipated. Somehow I imagined that summer would bring better health and more energy along with sunnier days and warmer temperatures, but it hasn't really. I have spent so much time in bed!

Despite this, there have been some exciting things happening here. Exciting for me anyway, not sure anybody else would define it as such! Haha... 

• I got new glasses and prescription sunglasses (or was that in May?)
• I got back into painting after a month off (slowly but surely...)
• I made a few crafty things while in bed, to brighten my room (will show off soon!)
• My parents bought us a bunch more mini cacti which I love! (see photos below)

There are many little things that have brought a smile to my heart even though I have been quite weak and flaring lately. It's important to focus on and cherish those little blessings that we so often overlook in the chaos of everyday life. Cultivating an attitude of gratitude. It really makes things easier to handle even if it will never cure our ills or heal our pain, it can certainly make life more pleasant!

As we head into a new month I am excited to show you my new bullet journal layout for June! I'll also share more detail about my symptom and mood tracker as well as a layout comparison with previous months.

I cannot believe we are already half-way through 2018, time is just racing by so fast. I only started this year's journal in March, so I don't have 6 months of journal updates to show you, but I will share the 4 months I have done so you can see how my journal has evolved over time.

I can't believe we're almost half-way through April already! This is possibly one of my favourite times of the year being the season of new beginnings. The days are becoming sunnier and longer, flowers are blooming and there is great excitement in my heart. Let me tell you why...

When I was first diagnosed with ​Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, I felt lost. It's a condition I had never heard of before and my doctor didn't seem to know much about it either. What got me through was the support of other patients I found online. And they continue to be my support as the years go by! For this reason I have created a community online for people with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and their carers.

It consists of a few places on social media where ​people with ME or CFS and their carers can share ​relevent content to help support the ME/CFS community.

My hope is that newly diagnosed patients, or anybody struggling to manage life with ME, would not struggle as much as some of us have to find the support and resources available to them.