雨

A couple of days ago I hit 26k followers on this blog alone and it is just insane! But none of you really know who I am or even my name!! I’ve got this audience now and I’ve got passion behind me and I think it’s time I shared my story and post it for pain. 

I’m now ready to introduce myself properly! 

This is me.

I’m Liz- some of you may know me as Claire which is my middle name which I had been going by when interacting with other blogs. But my name is part of my identity which I’m ready to share with you all! 

I liked the anonymity I had until now because I knew people were following me purely because they genuinely liked my “humour” or my art. You see me just as you would any other blogger. What you can’t see from the picture above is that I’m sitting in a wheelchair. When people come to my blog they don’t assume I’m disabled. It’s not the first thing they notice. If you met me on the street it probably would be the first thing you notice. I haven’t felt on tumblr I have been defined by my health. And that’s pretty flipping cool! But my health does define me to some degree. And to say “my illness doesn’t define me” is just not real because I live with pain 24/7 and it has an impact on everything I do. 

So it’s time to talk. 

This is also me. 

The internet can be fraught with hate and …weird… stuff… but it’s also given me such a wonderful outlet! Waking up one day with debilitating pain, after running around the day before is not something you would ever expect. And it’s not something everyone believes could happen either! But there are people like me. There are people who believe me and hearing their stories has kept me going. 

Now it’s my turn to share. I have people that for whatever reason are following me and I will not take that for granted. 

We NEED to bring awareness to chronic pain and invisible illnesses in young people! And I’m going to do everything in my power to do so. 

Now, here’s where I tell you what I’m actually trying to say… 

I am working on http://colourofoctober.com.au/ This will be where I tell my story, share my creative passions with you and you bet- there will be puns! Whilst chronic pain does define me, it does not define all of me. 

Currently the website is under maintenance but you can subscribe via email to be notified when it goes live! It would mean so much to me if you are interested in finding out more about my story, my art or even if you just love a good pun, if you would subscribe! 

I feel so blessed that I have a chance to make a difference! 

Thank you if you read all of this- you’re a real trooper! ;)