A few days ago, I discovered Blogtober, a month-long event aimed at bloggers writing a post everyday during the month. There are prompts for each day of the month. They’re based on song titles, but you can do whatever you want. You don’t even have to follow the prompts! The first prompt is “This Is Me”.
So, who am I? When introducing myself, I tend to focus heavily on my labels. I tend to say that I’m blind and autistic and that I have mild cerebral palsy. I tend to say that I live in a care facility. I tend to say that I don’t work, but do day activities at my facility. Then again, are these the things that define me?
I could also be focusing on my passions. I am a blogger. I love to read memoirs and young adult fiction. I love to make soap and other bath and body care products. I am interested in aromatherapy. I am passionate about mental health and disability rights.
These are more “me” than my disabilities, but they’re still labels. Who I am at the core is not a blind or autistic person, or a blogger even.
Still, it is hard to define myself beyond the labels. Here are, however, a few things I think make me me.
- I am open to new experiences. For example, I love to discover new hobbies. I am also open-minded to differences in people’s identity.
- I am passionate. When I have an idea in mind, I can truly focus on it for a while. This means I can really be enthusiastic, but it also means I tend to perseverate.
- I am sensitive, both to emotions and to physical stimuli. This may or may not be a positive characteristic, depending on how much I can handle on a given day.
- I am intelligent. This is often the first positive quality people mention about me and I tend to hate that. After all, my IQ was often used to show that I should be able to solve my problems in other areas. Now that I am in an environment that doesn’t judge people by their IQ – I live with people with severe to profound intellectual disability -, I tend to appreciate my intelligence somewhat more.
- I am a go-getter. Some people would disagree, because I have very poor distress tolerance and because I haven’t achieved their goals for me. They see the fact that I’m in a care facility and not working as a sign that I’ve given up. I haven’t. I have just focused on my own true needs and desires.
What are some things that make you uniquely you?
I think my year round Halloween decor, penchant for wearing all black, and refusal to conform to what a mom should look/act like make me unqiuely me. 🙂
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That’s wonderful! I used to wear only black when I was a teen/young adult, but now I like to wear colors occasionally.
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Positive qualities!
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Nice post! You’re a good writer too. I look forward to your posts 🙂
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Thanks so much! 🙂
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Welcome to Blogtober, lovely getting to know you, I would love to make my own bath bombs and beauty products x
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That would be fun! I tried making bath bombs once, but it was harder than I had expected. Thanks for stopping by.
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Welcome to Blogtober, so glad you chose to join us, I am looking forward to finding out more about you, and reading your story makes me feel more positive about the future for one of my children who is autistic and just started at a specialist school in September. I also have a friend who’s little boy is partially sighted and going through an autism diagnosis, so I shall show her your blog to let her know what he may be able to achieve.
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Thanks so much for hosting this challenge, Mandi! I’m so glad you found my blog inspiring and hope so does your friend.
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Those are all great and we agree with Paula, you are a good writer!
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Thank you for saying that! 🙂
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So lovely to see you joining in with Blogtober. I can’t wait to read more from you as you sound like such an interesting person x
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Thanks so much. I can’t wait to read more of your posts too. I’ve seen some in other linkies before.
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Nice to meet you, I hope you enjoy the challenge.
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Thanks. I think I definitely will.
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I love your positivity and confidence and I’m sure you make the most of life. I’m so glad you’ve decided to take part in Blogtober.
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Thanks so much. That’s cool that you think I show positivity, as I used to be known at least as a rather negativistic person.
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Welcome to #blogtober! I can’t wait to learn more about you as the month goes on 🙂
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Thanks. I can’t wait to learn more about you either.
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What lovely traits! Welcome to Blogtober.
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Thank you. 💜
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Nice to find a fellow newbie to #Blogtober2020 also! Looking forward to this journey with you. You are not defined by the disabilities you have and its so lovely to read of you speaking so openly about that!
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Thanks. I think that my disabilities do define me in some ways, but so do my other qualities. Looking forward to sharing my #Blogtober20 journey with you.
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You write really well
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