Monday 22 December 2014

Being 22.

I feel like Taylor Swift lied to me about how it feels to be 22...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v9nfy_ZmsA

It was brought to my attention recently that I'm no longer really a young person with chronic illness, but neither am I a 'regular' person with chronic illness. Being 22 I don't know where I quite stand at the minute, of course in medical terms I'm still an exception for my problems and in society's views I'm still too young to be ill, but in the chronic illness world, where do I stand?

The community really is split into young people and everyone else because honestly viewpoints and situations are very different in each clique. What's important you at 15 probably isn't at 45. 
I certainly don't think I'm part of the older group just yet as my pension pot never crosses my mind. Then again neither do I worry about my GCSE's, so where do I belong?

We were the young ones not very long ago and it isn't that I feel particularly excluded from the clique it's just a rather bizarre position to be in. I suppose that whether ill or not being this age is difficult for everyone, when did we suddenly become part of the big, bad, adult world? I don't remember that happening.

No longer is it acceptable for us to disappear from the world whenever we feel like it, we have to be scary sounding words like 'responsible', 'dependable' and 'reliable', which I am not entirely happy about. Saying that though, I don't think I'd really want to go back to being 15 and stressing about who fancies you and what grade you got in the maths mock exam. 

I guess there is no right answer here, we belong wherever we feel the most comfortable. 'Where is that?' I hear you ask, well I'm married, sitting in a children's cartoon character onesie watching teenage american TV shows. You decide...

Tuesday 2 December 2014

Inspo Porn Star (Apparently)

Please bare with me for I am currently an emotional wreck. You see, dear readers, I have just received my very first negative comment. Apparently I am a horrible example of a chronically ill person as I am spreading Inspo Porn and thus validating it. 

I bet I've lost some of you already so I'll back up and explain a little; Inspo Porn has become the name of those patronising phrases able-bodied people like to use to feel like they're being empathetic. Here's a few for future reference: 'overcome so much', 'inspirational', 'brave' and 'uplifting'. Now obviously it depends on the context, if a disabled person does something that genuinely they are good at then go ahead and compliment them as much as you like but if you're calling them 'so very inspiring' just because they brushed their hair it's a little bit cringe-worthy. I am good at my job, thank you very much, so feel free to compliment that and yes you can acknowledge that it is quite a feat for me to be working at all, but please don't tell me that 'if you can do it, anyone can' because I'm not a china doll, I'm a human being just like everyone else who just has to do things a little differently. 

Personally I really don't get offended by this stuff, I get that people are trying to be nice and it is kind of nice to have someone tell you that you're inspiring. However, I understand that for some people the whole thing is completely unacceptable and while I appreciate their opinions I will not be retracting anything I have written or changing my view on this.

This all came about, I believe, from a post I wrote about those news stories where a 4 year old paraplegic, deaf child climbed 6 mountains in two days with a goat on their back while raising £4million (Find it here http://wellyoulookfinetome.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/guilted-into-action.html) And perhaps a couple of others so I just want to make sure that I say this nice and clearly: 

I never intended for any of these to be Inspo Porn, they are merely meant to be slightly motivational to those who are able bodied, disabled and everywhere in between whilst being a commentary of what's going on in my head.

To conclude this little rant, a rant-ette?, I want to tell you all that each and every one of you ARE inspiring, ARE brave and ARE amazing simply for being you.