Why It's Time to Start Sharing Other Peoples Stories

You might notice articles written by other authors popping up. Why am I doing this? When I started my journey of deciding what I wanted my career to be, I chose theatre. I chose this because it allowed me to share other peoples stories. This outlet shares in a way that conveys a universal message. I’ve always said, “how can I share other people’s stories if I haven’t heard them?” I’m lucky to have found such a wonderful community through social media. I have had the chance to interact and befriend people who are just like me. I am hearing their voices but on this platform, I want them to be able to share their own narrative.

I want to respect that everyone’s experience with chronic illness or mental health is different. I don’t feel like I can represent the whole in this way or in this space. I want you, the reader, to hear from others. There is an entire community dedicated to the disabled. Somehow they’re rarely heard in mainstream media. They’re cast aside. Especially those with invisible illness. It’s easy to treat them like there’s nothing wrong because on the outside nothing appears to be going on.

These people have a whole story behind them. They are first and foremost lovely individuals that are more than their diagnoses. Some of them have been through intense medical trauma. Others had a prolonged diagnosis time because of medical gaslighting. Some get diagnosed on the spot but don’t receive a treatment plan. We all have a different experience. Those within the community can empathize with each other because we have lived in this world.

There are so many aspects to living out the life you wanted that don’t include chronic illness. This is the most resilient group of people I’ve ever met and I feel honored to be a part of this community. I want you to hear from them because I think it’s a gift to learn about others. There is so much that we all have to learn. The beauty is that we can learn from each other. So let’s start together, right here and right now.