Yo, Myself & Ich

  “What do you want to be when you grow up?” is a question I got asked a lot as a child, just like any other kid. And as you might expect, over the years I came up with all kinds of different answers: princess, vet, fashion designer, scientist, you name it! But no matter how many crazy and completely opposite ideas I had about what I wanted professionally, there is one thing that never changed: my ardent desire to be a mother. When I was little I loved to play with my dolls and pretend I was pregnant by hiding them under my shirt, as I am sure many other girls did too. I have names picked out for years, one for a boy and one for a girl. The only thing I am missing is the baby. For a long time I did not think of my disability as a possible obstacle to motherhood. It was only after an incident I had in my last year of high school that I began to question whether that was even possible. One of my classmates had just had a baby and brought him over on the last period of class to intro...

Some time ago, I stopped a cab to go downtown to run some errands for my mother's birthday. To my surprise, the driver was a woman, something that I don't come across too often, so I got in the front seat without a worry. As soon as I climbed in and put my crutches on my lap as usual, however, the driver immediately started interrogating me non-stop about my disability. She asked, "What's wrong with your legs?" , to which I replied it was a birth defect. I thought that would be it, but then she continued. "Wait, so you're going to be like this forever?" , she then went on, with a look of sheer shock on her face. I nodded, nonchalantly, as I buried my head in my phone and pretended to be texting so she would leave me alone, but it did not work. "But... but... there's got to be some sort of cure, right? Can you not have some surgery?" . That was the last straw for me. "I've had twelve" , I replied. She continued to ramble ab...

A while ago, I decided to treat myself to a nice and long warm bath. I got in the tub, closed the curtain behind me and tried to make myself comfortable and enjoy the moment. Then, as I was applying shower gel all over, I began to take a closer look at my body, in its natural state, still wondering how it looked so womanly when I still felt like a young girl. It was not long before I realized that one thing had not changed: the numerous scars that cover it. I became increasingly upset as I became aware of the marks left behind by my dozen different surgeries, the evidence of so many traumatic experiences that were now carved in my skin for the rest of my life. Every glimpse of my naked body was a reminder of what I have been through. I felt like every look at my naked body was a reminder of all that I had been through. In the end I lay in the bathtub, with the water up to my ears and cried until I got out, feeling defeated and sad. Living inside my disabled body can be a constant battl...

Note: When I started this blog almost two years ago, this was supposed to be my first entry. I had decided to write it on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Sophie’s birth in May 2021, but just as I was working on it one afternoon I got the news that my grandfather had passed and never finished writing it. Until now, it had remained at the bottom of the draft board, with that day marked as the last time it had been edited, but realizing that the 80th anniversary of Sophie’s death was this year I decided that this was the perfect opportunity for me to finally post this tribute to her. February 22nd this year marks the 80th anniversary of the death of German anti-Nazi political activist Sophie Scholl, one of the leaders of the non-violent intellectual resistance organization “ The White Rose". It will probably go mostly unnoticed, though I suspect lots of public tributes would have taken place if not for the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic, which is still wrecking hav...

  Ah, it’s the most wonderful time of the year! Just like that, 2022 is quickly drawing to a close and Christmas is once again right around the corner. For all of us, it’s finally time to start preparing: decorating the house, putting up the Christmas tree and go shopping for presents is something that all of us can relate to. However, I’m not here to talk about the things we have in common, because this article would be very boring, but about what makes the holiday season in my home a little bit different from yours. The answer? My heritage. As the description of this blog already gives out, I grew up in a binational household, with parents who come from different countries. On my father's side, I'm German; he was born and raised in and around Berlin before he first came to Chile in the mid-80s and met my mother, so he eventually ended up staying. I was born and have spent 24 out of my 25 years of life in Chile, so I mostly blend in with the crowd except for my lighter skin an...

  As World Spina Bifida Day has rolled around once more, I wanted to write another article related to disability justice and inclusion because it seemed the most appropriate thing to do. It probably would have taken me much longer to come up with a specific topic had it not been for a recent personal experience that I had, which ultimately drove me to write about microaggression. You might ask yourself what this means, as the concept has been trown arount a lot lately by people who may not even understand its significance. Psychologist Derald W. Sue , who's written two books on microaggressions, defines the term as  "the everyday slights, indignities, put downs and insults that people of color, women, LGBT populations or those who are marginalized experiences in their day-to-day interactions with people" . Think, for example, of a gay man being complimented for "passing as straight" or "not looking gay", a white woman clutching her bag as she enters an...

  Roe is down. As I write these lines I'm still trying to absorb last week’s events, which saw the Supreme Court of the United States overturn Roe vs. Wade, the ruling that legalized abortion nationwide in 1973. I'm obviously not an American, but hearing the news made me feel completely ecstatic and beaming with joy. This is something I had been anxiously awaiting, but when it happened for some reason it still caught me by surprise, hence my delay in digesting everything. Finally! And yes, I’m pro-life. Those who know me in person know just how passionate I am about it, having been active in the anti-abortion movement for almost 10 years. Because I speak English, I have been able to make friends from many different places through online pro-life organizations and groups, the vast majority of which are from the United States. This is why I was so aware of what was happening and all the events that led to the court’s decision. Sadly, because this is such a controversial subject, ...

  As some of you might remember, my very first entry on this blog was about priest martyr Héctor Gallego, whom I cited as a strong personal role model. This time around, I come to you with yet another prominent Latin American Catholic figure, who was also known for standing on the side of those who were poor and marginalized, on the 42nd anniversary of his passing. The title already gives out it's Saint Óscar Romero, archbishop of San Salvador, capital of El Salvador, well-known for his sermons in defense of social justice and peace in the context of the Salvadoran Civil War. Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdames was born on August 15th, 1917, in Ciudad Barrios, located in the San Miguel department in the eastern part of El Salvador. He was the second of eight children, six brothers and two sisters, born to his parents Santos and Guadalupe. From an early age, his father taught him the skill of carpentry and he proved to be a great aprentice; however, the young Romero soon decided he wan...

It's official: ABBA are back. Four decades after going on a "break" from recording that seemed to be definitive, the Swedish supergroup are making history by releasing a brand new album, "Voyage", with 10 completely new songs, in what is probably the greatest musical event of the year, if not the decade. At the time where the world most needed light and happiness, after almost two years in a pandemic, Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad put a smile on millions of people's faces, including my own. ABBA has been my favorite band since I was about five years old, when was visiting my aunt and one day she put an ABBA video on her VHS player. From then on I became completely bewitched by their music, and never stopped listening to them. I even learned a big part of my English from ABBA lyrics. And yes, for the record I AM aware of the fact that I’m a Gen Z’er, but then I suppose I’m wired differently than the ...

One of the questions I more often get as a disabled person is: What's wrong with you? Everyone who knows me obviously knows I have a disability, but I'm under the impression that not very many know my actual diagnosis, what it is or what it entails. And even if I ever tell someone I have spina bifida, their most common response will probably be "Wait, say what again?". While scrolling through a Facebook group of SB patients, I recently came across a meme that said: "SPINA BIFIDA: Imagine my brain is a PC, my body is a Mac, they're trying to exchange a file and it's the 90s." I sure laughed at the metaphor, I thought it was hilarious and painfully accurate, but it also made me want to give an explanation that was a little bit more technical, so I can get people educated. So, in honor of World Spina Bifida Day, held every year on October 25th, today I bring you the basics. Spina bifida is a neural tube defect. For those who may not know, the neural tub...

Today, September 5th, I chose to bring you the story of another one of my heroes. I'm talking about Indian flight attendant Neerja Bhanot, whose heroic actions set an example of selflessness and bravery for millions of young women 35 years ago today. Neerja Bhanot was born in Chandigarh, India, on September 7th, 1963, to Harish Bhanot, a journalist for the Hindustan Times, and housewife Rama. She had been the answer to her parents' long prayers for a daughter, after already having two sons, Akhil and Aneesh. The family then relocated to Mumbai, where Neerja graduated high school and began working as a model, eventually appearing in over 30 ads in Indian magazines and television. At 20 years old, she had an ad-based arranged marriage and moved to Doha, Qatar. At first, the young couple genuinely seemed to get along and went forward with the wedding, but as soon as she joined him in the Gulf he turned her life into a living hell. Upset with the lack of a dowry, Neerja's husba...