Disability is a journey I feel ready for

Image description: A wheelchair symbol on a blue card, with the text: I grew up believing disability was a negative word that meant something was wrong with you, that you were different, and not in a good way. I wondered for years if my vision impairment counted as a disability. Was I supposed to use a label? What would happen if I did? What would happened if I didn’t?

Image description: A waiting room, including a young girl wearing glasses. The text reads: For as long as I can remember, the signals were there that I must be different. Strangers staring in the street; other kids whispering with glances in my direction; always being the youngest person in a hospital waiting room full of mostly elderly people.

Image description: A group of children play basketball, with a girl in glasses standing back. The text reads: Adults loved to tell me there was nothing I couldn’t do, I just wish I’d known how to believe them. They’d remind me that what matters most n a person is what’s on the inside, so why did my ‘outside’ seem to matter so much?

Image description: A woman looks into the sunset. The text reads: I tried as hard as I could to blend into the crowds, doing all I could not to be noticed, not to be caught out, and mostly I was pretty good at it. But as I feel older I felt a sense of longing starting to grow.

Image description: A yellow badge reads: Congratulations! You’re different and society will remind you of this every single day, forever! The text below reads: Longing for the comfort of others who have shared similar experiences to me. Other people have have had the the unwelcome badge of ‘difference’ bestowed upon them, for something they had no control over.

Image description: A woman is walking by a river. The text reads: I am still trying to peel things back for myself and work out how to sit comfortably in my own skin, but it’s journey I know I finally feel ready for.