I'm so Bored that I treated people like human beings

Ok, so that title sounded a bit harsh, I admit. But seriously, I've come to the conclusion that a lot of people need a guide on how to treat people with disabilities like human beings. (And I'm not even going into the pointless nature of the word "disabilities" right now). 

I know...it would help you see me as a human being if I didn't draw myself like this.

1. Conversations start with hello.

If I don't you, my life history is none of your business. 

It is NOT OK to walk up to a stranger and say, "What happened?"

So say it with me now, all together.

2. I probably don't need help. 

I may look unsteady on my feet. I may look clumsy. But I know what I'm doing, even if it's different than how you would do something.

Unless I am obviously in immediate danger or I explicitly ask for your help, I don't need your help.

In a lot of situations, even asking if I need help is creepy.

He needs help, not me.

3. There is not a secret disabilities club.

I mean, there are groups and organizations. But I don't automatically know every person with a physical disability (or with any other kind of disability).

No, I will not instantly bond with your friend because they use crutches or a wheelchair.

No, we don't already know each other through some secret network.

This picture has nothing to do with this point. I just haven't used it in this post yet.

4. I am not a child.

Some people with disabilities are children. And you can therefore treat them like children.  But personally, I am 21 years old. I do not need your patronizing protection. I do not need you to cover my ears to "protect my innocence."

And if you think I'm innocent simply because I have a disability, my response, in true Southern style, is just, "Aww, sweetie."

Please, just grow up already.

5. I am not stupid. 

If you tell me, "It must have been so hard for you to get into a top 20 university with a disability," I start to wonder how you got into the same university as me.

Believe it or not, I coasted through high school. I got into a top 20 university because I was valedictorian and scored a 35 on the ACT. My disabilities had absolutely nothing to do with it.

Making assumptions about people's intelligence is ignorant and idiotic. Don't do it.

This man has accomplished something. Go be amazed at what he did instead.

I could keep going, but I feel like people stop reading after number five on how-to lists.

Bored Game Time!

Answer: Hemingway. Move back 2 spaces if you're boring enough to know what Hemingway looks like.

Question: What book am I currently in the middle of reading?

I'm so Bored that I gave writing lessons to the blogosphere: Lesson 1

When somebody asks me, "What do you like to do in your spare time?" I reply, "I like to write."

And when I tell them this, I get one of three responses:

You don't play any sports?!

I was on a bowling team in high school...

Ooh, what do you write?

If you say this to me, I assume you're a writer, too

How? Writing sounds really difficult. 

You think it requires skill and effort to produce my work? You've obviously never read my blog

Well, to anyone whose answer is the third one, I, Bored, shall now teach you how to write in a series of mini lessons on this blog.

 

Lesson 1: Life experience

Before you can write, you have to have something to write about (Yes, I know I used incorrect grammar; it was for emphasis. Get over it). 

If you don't have any life experiences, your writing will be something like this:

 

 You've been warned. 

"But," you scream, "I don't know how to gain life experiences!"

You've come to the right place. Follow the 5 easy steps below, and you will have all the experience you need to become a writer. 

1. Get a boyfriend/girlfriend.

Get extremely serious with them

 2. Break up with your boyfriend/girlfriend. 

Make sure there's lots of fighting involved

 3. Travel around the world

While running from the police

4. Lose your leg/arm in an epic battle/shark attack

 

It's best if you have to saw it off yourself to save your life

5. Develop severe alcoholism. 

And apparently, buy a cat

Congratulations! You've now got enough experience to be a writer. In the next lesson, we'll talk about types of written works.

Bored Game Time!

Answer: Tibidabo. Move forward 6 spaces if you knew that.

Question: Who is pictured above with his cat? 

I'm so Bored that I ran away

This weekend, I ran away by myself to Barcelona, Zaragoza, and Belchite.

I'll be posting more about those places on my travel blog later, but for now, I'd like to focus on the joys of traveling alone.

You see, there are a lot of great things about traveling by yourself, and here are a few of them:

1. Meeting strangers

This is what came up when I googled "stranger"

If you're traveling with  a group, you talk to your group. If you travel by yourself, you talk to random people you meet.

I met some Argentinians who gave me a ride to the bus stop in Belchite, I had a great conversation with a taxi driver in Zaragoza, and I met a German girl in one of my hostels.

Meeting strangers in Spain also means kissing people, so that's fun.

2. Going to random places where no one else wants to go

Like here

One of the reasons I traveled by myself is that I really wanted to visit Belchite, the site of a civil war battle, and no one else wanted to visit. Traveling by myself allowed me to take lots of buses and go to Zaragoza and Belchite without having to argue with anyone about the itinerary.

3. Pretending you're Spanish and not having anyone correct you

Google images is making my day right now

This happened more when I was wandering around Rome by myself, but sometimes when I'm by myself, people ask where I'm from, and I just claim I'm from Palma.

The Italians actually believed me.

4. Finding out how helpful people can be

These things are hard to reach

When I'm in a group, my friends help me if I can't do something, such as stowing my luggage overhead in an airplane.

By myself, though, I get to struggle for a minute before strangers jump in to help me, which leads me back to reason #1 to travel alone: meeting strangers.
 
5. Eating whatever you want without being judged for it

Nachos for dinner?

If I'm with other people, I have to eat regular, balanced meals full of normal food.

By myself, though, I can randomly decide to go to the top of a mountain and then eat nachos I bought from a street vendor for dinner, and no one says, "No, let's go get real food!"

Bored Game Time!

 Answer: The Lady of the Vatican. Move forward 3 spaces if you knew that - you're so smart!

Question: What mountain in Barcelona has an amusement park at the top of it?

I'm so Bored that I published a (e)book

That's right!

I finally got around to taking my favorite poems and short stories I have written, formatting them as best I could, and publishing them in ebook form.

You can find (and buy) my ebook here. 

Thanks!

I'm so Bored that I eavedropped in the Vatican

For Easter vacation, I spent 2 weeks traveling around Italy and France. My first full day in Rome, though, was spent almost entirely outside of Rome, because I spent it inside the Vatican.

Of course, the artwork and artifacts in the Vatican museums are amazing, as is the architecture.

I mean, just look at that majestic beast

But what I really enjoyed inside the Vatican were all the conversations I overheard:

1. Map gallery freak out

I walked into the Gallery of Maps behind a young boy (maybe 7 at the most?) and his mom.

I mean, I agree, the maps were impressive

When he realized he was surrounded by maps, the kid just stopped and said "Ok, this is making me freak out."

2. Where is the Sistine Chapel, really?

I seriously heard a college-age girl tell her friend, "They told us about the Sistine Chapel when we were in D.C., so I thought it was in D.C."

I did not take this photo because I am a good person

Really? They told us about the Atlantic Ocean in geography class. I really expected the room to flood right then.

3. Religious Confusion

I was standing in the Ancient Egypt exhibit, staring at this beautiful shrowd:

This shroud is not connected to this story

when I heard a girl next to me say to her friend, "But we don't believe Jesus actually rose from the dead, right? Like, he was just a man."

I only hope she wasn't Catholic.

Bored Game Time!

Answer: Cardinal Jose Bergoglio. Move forward one space if you knew, move back 2 if you didn't.

Question:  What is the name commonly given to the person depicted on the shroud above?