July Is Disability Pride Month!

July is Disability Pride Month, which I only learned for the first time three years ago. I was born with my rare neuromuscular disorder, I've had it all my life, but I only stopped trying to hide it and started being ✨open✨ less than four years ago.

I spent 30+ years being pretty ashamed of it, and internalized ableism still gets me sometimes - it's hard not to default to it when I only learned a few years ago it was even a thing.

I always felt like I was secretly working against my body to be able to accomplish anything. But once I started talking more about my experience with my disability as opposed to denying it to myself, I started to accept it more.

Once I started hearing more stories from the disability community, I started seeing my own strengths more, because I could so clearly see theirs.

Eventually, it started sinking in that my body has always kept going, whether I felt like I believed in it or not.

I used to keep my muscle disability to myself because I felt like it was my own business to overcome.

But disability isn't meant to be overcome, it's meant to be lived with.

It's not all of what makes me, but it is a part of it.

And I don't accomplish things despite my muscle disability, I accomplish them with it.

Disability Pride Month is a time to normalize discussions around disability and listen to how people feel about and live with their own, so I'm excited to see more recognition of it in July! 💃🏽💞✨