Happy Disability History Month! This year’s theme is Disability, Life and Death—a call to reflect on how society values disabled lives and the narratives that surround us.

Too often, disability is portrayed as tragic, as something not worth living through. For many of us, simply living with joy and pride is an act of defiance—sometimes I think it’s even more radical than any activism we do.

When you’re constantly told, “If I were you, I’d kill myself,” when people assume your deepest wish is to erase your disability rather than dream of career success, love, family, or adventure—it can be hard to feel pride and joy or even to keep going. But I do.

I’m proud to be a disabled woman—and I’m not waiting for a cure. My blindness is as much a part of me as my (admittedly somewhat obsessive) love for Ed Sheeran’s music, my passion for travel, my foodie adventures, being a mum and a wife, my fascination with elephants, my love of rom-coms, action movies and Simon Reeve documentaries, and my habit of devouring fantasy novels alongside classics like Jane Austen or spouting out random facts about lots of things

I love my life—something teenage me, struggling with severe low mood and questioning if it is worth going on, never thought possible. Today, I’ve found my passion and get paid to live it. I have supportive people around me, I travel the world, eat my way through global cuisines, and live independently—something many of my peers aren’t granted.

Would life be easier without blindness? Yes. I wouldn’t face access refusals with my guide dog, discrimination, microaggressions, prejudice, feel unsafe, or. I wouldn’t accidentally eat garlic bread thinking it was cake at a buffet! But I still wouldn’t swap my life for anything.

In short, I live a life worth living. The only thing that ever strips away my dignity is society—through systemic barriers and attitudes that exclude me. So it’s not me, is it?

So here’s my wish for Disability History Month: stop pitying us or putting us on pedestals. Celebrate our lives like you celebrate any others. After all, we are just like you—full of hopes, dreams, wishes, fears, worries and trepidation. And stop believing that we don’t want or need fun, silliness, or the freedom to be ridiculous. We absolutely do.