It is so incredibly important to feel seen and to connect with other stories that mirror yours. Seeing yourself represented can make you feel less isolated and can also create tools for showing others what your experience is like. Humans are inherently social creatures, so sharing that sense of understanding and connection can be a critical component to an interwoven society. It can be hard to care about a concept, but it’s easy to care about a person. Representation is a powerful tool to help others get it.

My daughter recently got glasses for the first time, and her experience really reminded me how much our representations in culture and media matter. She knew glasses were likely coming to her life, and she began to worry about how this would impact her appearance and others’ perception of her. She kept asking if there were any Disney princesses with glasses. She, like most young girls, aspires no higher than to be a Disney princess. So realizing there are no princesses like you can be really heart breaking.

However, in the end she found the perfect pair of floral, pink, and glittery glasses that made her feel very beautiful. Instead of feeling self conscious, she became proud of her glasses and preferred her look with them. She decided to create her own stories of princesses with glasses, one of which is shown in the following picture. When she didn’t find the representation she craved, she made it herself.

Like my daughter, I also get really excited when I encounter stories like mine. I recently greatly enjoyed Zendaya’s portrayal of single sided deafness in the movie, The Drama. I pick up books just because they have characters who have similar diagnoses to mine. I actively search out media with representation that reflects my life experience. I find I always learn from their stories and that it is so comforting to feel seen.

Because this is so important to me, I feel like one of the best things I can do is be open about my struggles and disabilities to create opportunities for others with similar situations to connect with me. Every time a person tells me that my story made a difference in how alone they felt, it is a big victory. It feels like walking together in deep snow- I am happy to walk through the deep snow first and create a path that makes the journey easier for others following in my footsteps. Using my story to help others helps turn the challenges in my life into something positive.

So I love reasons to be bold about sharing my story like disability pride month. I am happy to hold my flag high and proudly identify with the disability community. While getting a brain tumor diagnosis was not on my bucket list, I love the people I have connected to on this journey. I am grateful to be part of such a welcoming and understanding community. I am comfortable being open about my disabled status and helping people realize that young people who look healthy can still be disabled.

I also find that being open and communicative about my story and needs helps me be more successful in my day to day life. Not that every wait staff I encounter needs the whole saga of my health, but choosing to share with others where I struggle or how they can help frequently benefits me. Another person can’t really guess what it’s like to experience a life that differs a lot from theirs, so creating opportunities for understanding really makes a difference.

I know that everyone experiences really different feelings around the word disabled, but I hope that this Disability Pride Month you are able to feel welcome in the disability community. I really want July to have many moments where you find community, see your story reflected in others, and maybe you even can represent for someone else. I am proud to be a representative of the disability community because of people like you.