Mandurah Mail opinion: How an inspirational story made an impact

It's not something you aspire towards, and it's certainly not something you're ever proud of, but at times it comes with the territory.

After you've been to enough fatal car accidents, or enough house fires, the sheer tragedy and devastation these events can cause is sometimes lost on you.

It works the same in reverse, with positive and uplifting stories perhaps not having the effect on you they would on a reader.

But every now and then you'll buck that trend and find yourself working on a piece that genuinely gets through to you, as was the case when I met with Myalup man Joel Whitwell over the weekend.

Joel was born with a cranial deficiency (read more here), and has lived his life confronting the social and emotional challenges that come with having "half a face", as he describes it.

He's been told he should kill himself and had his share of struggles with mental health, but he's a man who lets nothing stand in the way of pursuing his dreams.

Right now, those dreams are of sharing his life journey with the world, as he plans to launch a career as a motivational speaker while penning an auto-biography.

Now Joel's story is by no means new to me.

Having both grown up in the same small town of Harvey you're bound to bump into each other. Our parents grew up together and we both have brothers that have been mates for years.

I also had the chance to tell Joel's story as a fresh-faced cadet at the Bunbury Mail four years ago, so despite being 16 years younger it's safe to say I'm familiar with his tale.

But even that familiarity doesn't stop Joel's story from making its mark on me.

Perhaps it's that closeness of having known him previously that helps leave an impression, but I count it as one of the few interviews that I've walked away from with a refreshed, more positive outlook on life.

God only knows how many tragic incidents reporters cover in their careers, or how many inspirational people they get to speak to, but it's only a select few that will force you to genuinely stop and think about the significance of their story.

Joel's aim from now on is to tell his story to the world, and if it has half as much impact on others as it's had on me he's going to be very successful sharing it.