Growing up, I never knew who I was.

I tried to conform to the expectations of others. Desperately wanting to fit in with the in-crowd, yet always falling outside of it. Never really fitting in, and always being the quiet child in school.

I kept my head down and put everything into working to the best of my ability. I had to work harder than most for the grades I got.

Adulthood wasn’t much easier for me.

Plunged into motherhood at a relatively young age, as well as marrying someone I hardly knew. Once again, wanting to do the right thing. Doing what others expected me to do.

After two failed marriages, and raising teenage boys on my own, I kind of had a light bulb moment. It dawned on me where I had been going wrong, and why I had never really achieved as much as others.

I had been living up to society's expectations, and I had just been drifting along. I really hadn’t thought about who I was. My life had been solely about being a wife and mother, and I had never known who I truly am.

That all changed when I made the decision to return to education in my 40s.

I studied hard and achieved what I had always known I could achieve, and, in the process, I learned a lot about myself.

I learnt that I have a determination and resilience that I never thought was possible. I also learnt that in the right circles, I can be in the popular crowd. I just hadn’t found that crowd before.

The biggest thing that I discovered during my academic studies, was my love for writing and my creative side. I have developed a great passion for writing poetry. It is something that is both cathartic and brings me much joy.

I enjoy sharing my poetry with others, and I hope that others gain as much enjoyment from my poetry.

My future is all the brighter and hopeful because I have discovered the inner me.

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Karen Burns is 49 and lives in Coventry, England and she is a freelance journalist. Her interests are reading, poetry, writing reviews and she has a blog all about her daughter who has an eating disorder.