July is a hot month for many, the temperature climbs so high you could probably cook an egg with enough patience and sunlight. July is an important month for the Disability Community as well because July is Disability Pride Month. For those of you who aren't familiar and might be thinking "Wasn't Pride month in June?" you'd be correct. For the LGBTQ+ community Pride is celebrated in June. July is the month for pride in our disabilities. If you google the image of the disability pride flag you will find that each colour represents something important; red for physical disabilities, gold for neurodivergence, white for invisible and undiagnosed disabilities, blue for psychiatric disabilities, and green for sensory disabilities. Taking pride in a disability might seem like a strange idea; being grateful for something that could affect our lives in any number of ways.
I am not grateful for the fact that I can't drive, need many people for basic things like cleaning, groceries, transportation, etc but I am grateful for the fact that I'm here writing these words down. I take pride in my Cerebral Palsy, not for the physical and emotional pain it sometimes causes me but for the lessons that disabilities have taught us. For example, my situation may be tough and I have the right to be upset sometimes but that doesn't give me the right to spread my pain around by being cruel to those around me. There is always someone dealing with a more difficult obstacle then you are out there. Someone might have an invisible disability or mental health challenge that they don't understand or have spent years dealing with without proper treatment, someone may have a trauma on top of a disability, or worse someone may have one way or another given up hope and left this world for whatever comes after. My point is I would have never developed this understanding of people without being born with Cerebral Palsy and hearing about the experiences of people I've met on my journey. I will always be grateful for that experience. Who knows how different my outlook on life would be if I was born able-bodied: maybe I would have been a pro wrestler, maybe a chef or maybe I'd be one of those unfortunate people who unintentionally or otherwise made the life of a disabled person difficult due to ignorance or not understanding their needs. I'm grateful that's one thing I will never have to know. Take pride in your disability whatever it is but not because it says Disability Pride month on your calendar; take pride and gratitude in the fact that your disability even though it might suck sometimes has made you the person you are today and that you have a chance to change this world for the better.
Until next keep calm and roll on.
