Lately a couple of the lovely young women in the Endometriosis Support Group that I run have told me that I'm an inspiration to them.
It's a weird thing to hear, because although I know it's meant as a compliment, it also makes me feel a bit uncomfortable to be honest.
There's this whole impression people have that anyone who, for example, is in a wheelchair or has cancer is inspirational, and in some cases they're put up on a pedestal and told how brave they are etc.
What I want you to know is that I (and most others with chronic illness) don't want to be 'inspirational' or be made to stand out just for living my everyday life. Yes, my life is very different from yours, and yes, I struggle, but I'm not here on this earth to be a role model or inspiration to anyone.
I just want people to acknowledge and try to understand how my illnesses affect my life, and support me as best they can.
But I don't feel it's right that I should be called inspirational over anyone else. All of us humans are just trying to live the best life we can, and all of our circumstances are different. There's no fair way to compare any one person to another person, because we're all different and unique, and that is what makes the world such an interesting place. If we were all the same life would be dull, and they do say that variety is the spice of life after all!
And really, I don't feel like an inspiration in myself, and a lot of days I actually feel inadequate because of my illness. I feel like I'm not doing enough, or being enough or using my time to it's fullest potential.
But I'm doing the best I can with what I have in this moment, and that's all any of us can do.
I'm not an inspiration, and I'm quite happy with that. I'm just one sick girl with a laptop, trying to make her own way in this crazy and diverse world.
It's a weird thing to hear, because although I know it's meant as a compliment, it also makes me feel a bit uncomfortable to be honest.
There's this whole impression people have that anyone who, for example, is in a wheelchair or has cancer is inspirational, and in some cases they're put up on a pedestal and told how brave they are etc.
What I want you to know is that I (and most others with chronic illness) don't want to be 'inspirational' or be made to stand out just for living my everyday life. Yes, my life is very different from yours, and yes, I struggle, but I'm not here on this earth to be a role model or inspiration to anyone.
I just want people to acknowledge and try to understand how my illnesses affect my life, and support me as best they can.
But I don't feel it's right that I should be called inspirational over anyone else. All of us humans are just trying to live the best life we can, and all of our circumstances are different. There's no fair way to compare any one person to another person, because we're all different and unique, and that is what makes the world such an interesting place. If we were all the same life would be dull, and they do say that variety is the spice of life after all!
And really, I don't feel like an inspiration in myself, and a lot of days I actually feel inadequate because of my illness. I feel like I'm not doing enough, or being enough or using my time to it's fullest potential.
But I'm doing the best I can with what I have in this moment, and that's all any of us can do.
I'm not an inspiration, and I'm quite happy with that. I'm just one sick girl with a laptop, trying to make her own way in this crazy and diverse world.
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