26 January 2021

A positive mind-set

Ciaran speaks about his motivational book to help other young people

Ciaran Attwood, who is currently completing the Prince’s Trust programme at USP College alongside English and Maths, speaks about how he is writing a motivational book to help other young people. He was inspired to share his story of having a positive mind-set with others as he had previously faced negative challenges after going through heart surgery.

Tell us a bit about your book
My book is about teaching teenagers to have a positive mind-set and how to overcome negative challenges. When I went through heart surgery I felt very negative and when I was recovering I thought about how I could change the negative to a positive. I started making quotes and posting them on Instagram. It took a few years for people to understand what I was doing. After a couple of years I started to get messages saying “you really helped me” and when I get that feedback it makes me happy. That’s why I like doing it and that’s why I’m writing a book so that I can point it out to everyone then.

Can you tell us about how your health conditions have affected your study?
I had open heart surgery when I was a baby and again when I was 14. Also, I will need to have a kidney transplant in the future.

I had time off from school and I had to work harder because I hadn’t been there for as much time. So I’d go back and I would not always know what was going on.

Can you tell me about the people who have been in touch with you?
They’re people of a similar age to me who have been going through trouble with their schoolwork, maybe bullying and I help them.

Do you have any favourite people who inspire you?
Ant Middleton inspires me, he’s an ex Special Forces soldier. When I first saw him on TV, he was talking about having a positive mind-set and that really clicked in my head. He’s one of the reasons that I am who I am, because I understand him more than anyone else.

What would you like to do in the future?
Hopefully I can get this book out and become an author and help people. I have also received comments from other colleges asking me to do motivational talks there and I’ve had former military people follow me and comment on Instagram. When I was younger I wasn’t really confident, but as I’ve got older I’ve started to grow and have that positive mind-set that I can do this, even if I am in front of one hundred people I will give it my best shot. That’s what my book is about – giving it my best shot.

When will your book be published?
I expect it to go out this year. I’m working with a masterclass on Facebook.

Ciaran’s mum said: “Ciaran took part in a pop-up writing course that I found on Facebook and we did it together. It led to a paid masterclass, but it was quite a lot of money and we couldn’t afford it, so someone decided to sponsor Ciaran and they paid the fees because they liked what he was doing. So he was getting help from other authors and publishers to give him the best help and advice. The person’s name was kept secret, but it was really nice as he wouldn’t have been able to take part otherwise.”

Did you learn anything unexpected from the course?
Everything was new to me. I had started writing it during lockdown. I was doing it as a hobby and then my mum found the group and then it just went from there. I didn’t expect it to kick off the way that it did!

Is there a message that you would like to get across to other students?
With Covid, lots of people are putting themselves down because they are locked indoors. They could maybe write, or work out or try something new and not get stuck into feeling that there’s no point.

At the start of lockdown I was watching TV and getting bored and then I thought ‘I’m done with this’. Now I’ve learnt how to write a book by keeping a positive mind-set and I’ve been doing boxing training at home to maintain my fitness until I can get back in the ring.

We will be updating you on social media when Ciaran’s book is released.