Wrapping Up

So I guess by doing a "wrapping up" I'm technically not doing the full assignment since it was to pick ten disabilities and talk about the experiences of having that disability, but I wanted to do this instead and hopefully a little bit of leeway is okay.

Anyway!

I think before doing this project, even given the conversation's we've had in class, I was thinking about disability in a couple of different ways: deafness, blindness, physical disability like amputation or quadriplegia, and mental health conditions. But in ramping up to do this project I found this article from Australian National University which really got me thinking about other types of disabilities and ways of acquiring a disability. I'm sure it's not completely accurate and that it's probably missing some stuff, but I still felt like it broadened my mind about not just the experience of disability - which I feel like this class focuses on for obvious reasons - but also about what disability can look like.

Also while writing these blogs, I got to think a little bit more about my experiences with disability and how I acted in those situations. I'm a little ashamed of some of my actions, but I also like that being ashamed and uncomfortable and embarrassed when you think about what you did in the past is probably a good sign. Usually it means that you are growing and learning to be a better person, and that's something that I want to do. I don't want to be...I guess afraid is the best word of people with disabilities? I want to be comfortable enough in my understanding of disabilities and of how to interact with people without offense to not afraid of interacting with people who are different than me just because I'm afraid of saying the wrong thing and hurting someone? But at the same time, I think that maybe it's a good thing to feel that way because at least I'm aware that there are ways I could hurt someone by not understanding that that's a possibility?

I just don't know.

All in all though, I really enjoyed working on this project and I think I actually got more out of it than I would have gotten out of another weekly or two, so I'm glad that I committed to this instead of more of those.