Video Killed the Radio Star

l-r Hayley, Carly, Michelle and me. (it's only when I see photos of myself that I think, "Gee! I AM really short!)

Now that title may be a little misleading...or narcissistic. Yes I am on radio from time to time, but I am in no way a star. It was just the title that popped into my head and I went with it. Let's give a round of applause to The Buggles for penning that little earworm....or karaoke favorite...

On Saturday I made my way into the city to the studios of Channel 31 to film an episode of No Limits. My dear friend Carly Findlay recently asked me if I would like to come into the studios and sit on a panel of other bloggers to talk about our experiences of blogging from the perspective as a person with a disability. I was thrilled to be asked, regardless of the fact that I struggle with the fact that my blog is in no way the calibre of Carly's or the two other wonderful bloggers I shared the panel with - Michelle from Living With Bob and Hayley from Rellacafa.

(Please head over and give these bloggers some love. Great reads and you'll be educated in the process - just like I was!)

Filming No Limits was such as positive experience. Everyone was just so friendly. It was a real experience having my makeup done for the harsh lights of the studio. Although I love it when I have a makeover my eyes inevitably start streaming when someone approaches them with a mascara wand, undoing a lot of the beautiful work! The atmosphere on the panel was relaxed and friendly - more like a chat than an interview. It's so easy to forget cameras when the conversation is so interesting. I learned so much from the other writers - particularly in regards to just getting out there and writing and telling my story. 

I think that's my biggest struggle - feeling as though my story is mundane; or sometimes not really feeling as though I can share the harder, more personal stuff. My life is so very ordinary, filled with work and commuting, crafting and cooking, catching up with friends and contemplating life, so I find myself wondering, "What exactly is the short statured perspective in all this?" I consider myself very blessed - a family of origin that modelled nothing but acceptance, a body that is fit and healthy without many of the issues that can be  associated with achondroplasia and a workplace that is diverse and accepting - not just of my difference, but of ALL difference. What is there to blog about?

But then I realise that that's exactly what I want to blog about and why I started blogging in the first place. I was tired of news stories, media coverage and newspaper articles about people of short stature taking one of three different directions - wildly inspirational, focusing on the problems that can be associated with being "four foot tall in a six foot world" or capturing a short statured person in the role that ridiculed both the condition and the person and didn't do anything to educate the public in any form.

I wanted to tell my own story. The story of a woman - who didn't even get to the lofty four foot in a six foot world (I'm only 3'10.5") but who just does life and is sometimes confused by a world who still has this tendency to discriminate and judge by appearance. For the most part though, I realise that on a daily basis, most people are just letting me do my own thing. I choose not to look for the people looking or staring or smirking or giggling. Is there a look of surprise when I walk into a business or shop and a customer service person encounters me? Possibly...but I've chosen not to see it, which means that I am free to simply go about my business and perhaps educate just one more person about difference in some small way.

I've also realised that by telling my stories I'm also putting things in order in my own mind. I'm exploring the impact some of my past experiences have had on my own journey towards self-acceptance. Hopefully these stories will help others out there as well - not just people with a condition of dwarfism but for others who struggle with accepting themselves and their appearance.