Beth writes

Tag: D.E.I.

  • Beth tells all – five things that shaped my life

    girl in pastel dress with hairbow sits on floor

    Okay, this won’t be telling all but I hope some will find out more about me I think. Here come five things that shaped my life.

    1. As a child I read a lot of books and was always imagining. Books were like a lifeline for me, where I could escape on magical adventures. I was always having ideas for poems, stories, songs and plays in my head. So that is where I got my love of writing from.
    2. When I was 15, I was in intensive care on life support for 2 months. It took some work to get the images and sounds of the machines out of my head. I turned the trauma into an art piece at university – for which I got a B.
    3. I only passed my GCSE’s with 3 c’s – and got E’s for maths and science having to resit. The rest of my grades were between C and E. And I scraped through my university degree with a 2-2. So while the others were celebrating their exam results, it was harder for me. How did this shape me? It reinforced my ideas of what I was good at, and what not so.
    4. Having to face a lot of social rejection and bullying has made me more adamant to fight this. I have been quite vocal for disability and lgbtq inclusion, and challenging hate during my life.
    5. When I was 13 I found a local am dram group and joined for the pantomime. Acting has always been something I absolutely love. What a surprise I got with a birthday in pantomime week though. I got pulled back on for the birthday song.

  • Disability Pride month

    Why do we have disability pride?
    The answer goes down to finding our identity and feeling good about ourselves. It also serves to promote the need for diversity and encourage others to embrace it.

    Image displaying different people working together
    Photo by Diva Plavalaguna on Pexels.com

    Time for a personal reflection on it.
    Finding yourself is a lot harder when you are someone who doesn’t fit with normal social expectations. I have seen firsthand how it is to feel helpless and struggled to do things that others find easy.
    It took away my sense of self, belief in my skills and ability to be resilient. Being disabled can also leave people feeling burdened, and alone.

    Woman sits at table by herself, staring out the window.
    Photo by Andrew Neel on Pexels.com


    As humans progress, I believe we will one day change society so we can be included better.
    This will lead to more willingness to hire disabled workers, and more role models that show disability in positive light.

    The word future written on blue surface
    Photo by Tara Winstead on Pexels.com

    Right now, disabled are often viewed in media with certain stereotypes. These include superheroes and villains, vulnerable people who can’t manage, or miraculous healers. None of these are positive images that show a good picture of disabled lives.

    So, think about the disabled people around you, and who they want to be.