On 22nd April 1519, after long months of travelling through oceans, a halt in Cuba and several tempests, we finally catch the sight of land. I can exit this wretched boat and step on the ground. The ten other caravels reach us one by one.
Strong
is the word I use
to describe myself.
I have gone through
obstacles,
balanced over pits of lava,
while people stood on the sidelines and watched.
They say, having a disability ‘builds character’ which is true (to an extent), I had grown confidence. Recently, I am hyper-aware of my disability. It is as if I have only begun using a wheelchair and I am adjusting to this new wheelchair-bound life. It is as if this human-surveillance world is something new to me…
The sun is beating down in Oaxaca. In this American-like crisscrossed city, each building has a specific color, there is not a single black or grey or white property. Streets are like rainbows, a place where rain and sun mix up to bring out the most beautiful. These concrete rainbows are just as ephemeral since frequent earthquakes destroy the city’s life. However, buildings have always surfaced stronger and prettier, like a tiny three-leaf plant growing through ruins.
The trees were coated in white, reminding me of the forests seen in Narnia, and the pathways crunched with each step. Our Christmas was a humble one. Between us, we had made a spectacularly simple meal. It was modest and delicious, and I wouldn’t have changed it for anything in the world because it was something we had created together.
With everything going on, it can feel hard to know what to do – we all want to support independent businesses, but with companies like Amazon surrounding us, it can feel hard to know how. Luckily for you, I’ve compiled the ultimate guide to supporting your local bookshops this Christmas…
Sleeping? But the night is long! Now, let’s think about one of those moments from last month…
Just cos I ain’t settled for a life of hustling,bustling on the scrounge -‘I’m a lucky sod.’Felt the skin of a four-leaf clover,or the itch ….
LUSH by Anne-Marie Yerks is a dystopian novel about an eighteen-year-old girl, Isla living in a reenactment community, Naudiz in future America. While she feels ….
We need the Arts now more than ever to give us some encouragement and hope. In acting, I found a way of going back to myself when I felt lost. In literature and writing, I found the power of critical thinking, of challenging people’s minds and of telling them stories. It has always been the Arts that I resorted to when I felt low. How could I ever give up something that has become such an integral part of who I am today?