Supporters versus famous debate

My name is Jhana, and I am a writer and advocate for people with disabilities. I hope that everyone had a good Thanksgiving.

For this blog, I want to talk about something that needs to be talked about. Supporters versus famous debate. A few years back, I was talking to someone on video on messaging. My YouTube channel was the topic of discussion. She started suggesting that I make a video because it's been a while and my fans are getting impatient waiting for me to tell them what's been going on. 

First off, I'm not doing this for fame; second, I want to find people who can relate to what I've been through and be my cheerleaders. Who believes in me and supports me. 

The idea of becoming famous or infamous immediately conjures up images of promoting oneself or clamoring for attention. When I speak up for the rights of people with disabilities, it is not to get attention, but rather to raise awareness of an issue that receives far too little attention: the existence of impairments. My second goal is to increase awareness of the difficulties faced by people with disabilities in everyday life.

A true fighter would be one of my readers who also happens to be one of my supporters. Everyone's supporters have been much appreciated. So thank you everyone for taking the time to read this blog. 

You’re a WARRIOR Not a BURDEN!!!!

My name is Jhana, and I am a writer and disability advocate. I will update my blog on Thursdays and Saturdays of every week. For this blog post, I'd like to address a topic that I think deserves to be discussed.You may have noticed that the title of this blog is "You're a WARRIOR Not a BURDEN!!!!" 

This feeling persisted throughout my life. My physical disability, for instance, is unique. Some of my family members have a disability but I'm the only one that has a disability that you can see. Because of this, I feel like I’m a burden on my family. Due to my disability, I don't feel "Normal," as some might put it. 

Ever since I was a kid, I've been setting myself apart from the crowd. This is because I have a persistent sense that I do not belong here. I've learnt that just because of a disability, doesn't mean that you are a burden. There is more to you than your disability. Because society doesn't want disabled individuals to have needs or wants, I believe that you deserve to live your life just the way you want to live it. People with disabilities, however, are more perceptive and intelligent than is commonly believed. 

This means that the inability to function normally is not an inevitable consequence of having a disability. Doing something different from other people does not mean that you are a burden. There's nothing wrong with having to put in extra effort, as you will likely need to surpass the efforts of others. So, no one should make you feel bad about having a disability or make you feel like you should feel guilty about it. The only way out is to stop being a burden for the sake of people' perceptions of you. Which would you rather be, a Victim or a victor? The choice is yours. What do you decide? The choice is yours. 

Would you rather be normal? Or would you rather know who you are?

My name is Jhana, and I am an advocate and writer for people with disabilities. My intention is to publish a blog entry on the first Thursday and Saturday of every week.

The word "normal" is the topic of today's blog post. Also, the reasons why people tend to abuse the term. I have a disability and so consider myself abnormal. But what is normal? When taken out of context, the word "normal" seems unnecessary. I've come up with an idea. If you're interested in my opinions, continue on.

I used to feel angry and resentful because of my disability, and I remember telling my mother that I wished I could be "normal." As she took a glimpse at me, my mother exclaimed, "You are normal!!!!" After that, I firmly stated, "Not if I have a disability." The argument made me feel like a complete idiot. But I went away without uttering another word. 

Later on in life, I met the man I met on Facebook. I didn’t understand why he wanted to be with me. So he questioned me, "What does normal mean?" because, well, I'm not. And there I was feeling incredibly stupid. However, last year I heard an explanation from my cousin when it finally clicked. She claimed that people who don't have no idea what people with disabilities face on a daily basis. Then she put it to me like this: "Would you rather be normal and not understand what a disabled person goes through, or would you rather be disabled and understand what you're going through?" I'd rather be disabled because disabled individuals always understand what they're going through and we don't have to explain our own handicap because we already know it. If you had to choose between fitting in and being yourself, which would you pick? My preference is to just be myself. To be disabled is not to be disqualified from living a full and meaningful life. This is the end of today’s blog. On Saturday, I will write a new blog post. 

Why does Thanksgiving mean so much to me now, compared to when I was a teenager?

I thought it would be a good idea to consider why Thanksgiving means so much to me now that it's getting closer than it did when I was a teenager. Now let's begin writing on this blog. 

Cooking the Thanksgiving meal

My brother, my grandmother, and I used to spend Thanksgiving with either my uncle or my aunt when we were kids. There was always a ton of food at large family get-togethers hosted by my uncle and his relatives and friends. In order to help, we were always the first to arrive early. The majority of the Thanksgiving meal was prepared by my aunt (via marriage), and my uncle was holding a beer nearly like a drug. My aunt asked me to peel the potatoes so she could prepare mashed potatoes because I had nothing else to do. Mashed potatoes used to be, and still are, my favorite food.

Anyway, my aunt had a table of food once the Thanksgiving dinner was finished cooking. Along with turkey, ham, deviled eggs, biscuits and gravy, sweet potatoes, yams, mashed potatoes, and much more. 

Thanksgiving meal

When it was time to eat, I saw how much food was on the table. Before we ate, we said Grace. People were waiting in line to fix their plates. I let everyone pass me, like I normally do, and hoped there wouldn't be any more food. "Go eat," my uncle said as he turned to face me. However, I dismissed the words as insignificant. I was starving and did not want to eat. I've always wanted to starve to death. But I started fixing a plate for myself because my uncle and cousin were watching me. I didn't make enough food on my plate to satisfy my hunger, so I just prepared little pieces. "Is that all you're going to eat?" my cousin asked as I turned to leave after finishing. Since it constantly seemed like I was squeaky, I didn't really trust my voice, so I nodded my head. I just ate three tiny pieces of turkey and a small amount of mashed potato that were on my plate.  My Aunty always gave us a ton of food to take home with us when we went home. I always grabbed what was offered to me when I was by myself at home, and I would binge eat until my stomach hurt. I spent several years starving and binge eating. 

My Aunty gave up and made my food every year. I knew exactly how to get it into the garbage, of course. I basically only ate ice cream and pumpkin pie. However, I took my time eating it—I nursed my pie and ice cream. I suffered from an eating disorder my entire adolescence because I was too scared to put on weight. However, I did not receive an eating disorder diagnosis. I believe I have an eating issue known as restrictive or avoidant eating. Additionally, I believe I had undetected anorexia. Thanksgiving did not stop my eating disorder, but that is another story that I will tell in a later blog post. 

Giving thanks as an adult

I also had an eating disorder when I was with my ex when I was 19 years old, and I gradually lost weight. My then-boyfriend prepared Thanksgiving dinner, but I didn't eat much of it because it was so overcooked and dry. We didn't receive meals from the Salvation Army until 2017 due to an inadvertent mix-up. He didn't buy a turkey to cook, and they didn't give us anything either. I accepted my friend's invitation to eat with her and her family that morning. I had a proper Thanksgiving dinner for the first time that year. Eating turkey that wasn't dry felt good. The guy I was with got offered to join us for Thanksgiving dinner, but he declined. However, that was the first time I had eaten and not gone without food. 

My internet boyfriend came to Hawaii two months later. That Thanksgiving, we were invited to someone's house despite being homeless. Then we had Thanksgiving supper, served by someone. It was my second year eating a good supper without going hungry. Then we moved into our apartment a year later. I eventually felt at ease consuming Thanksgiving food. I've eaten Thanksgiving dinner without going hungry for the past four years. 

Why does Thanksgiving mean so much to me now?

Even though I'm over 30, I still battle with eating disorders, although not as much as I used to. As an adult, I'm starting to understand the significance of Thanksgiving. Giving thanks for what we have rather than what we lack is more important than just the meal. I was not grateful for what I had. I had Thanksgiving dinner, even though most people don't. I was conceited and didn't show gratitude for what I had, preferring to dwell on my shortcomings. I'd like to wish everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving a good Thanksgiving before I wrap up my blog. And never forget to express gratitude to everyone who is extremely important to you. I'm relieved that I no longer starve myself, and Thanksgiving has become one of my favorite occasions. I hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving, and don't forget to check out my posts, which are posted every Thursday and Saturday. I'm going to recreate my old blog posts.  

Welcome to my new blogs

Hello Jhana’s Supporters, it’s your disability advocate and Writer Jhana. I’ve decided to recreate Jhana’s writing Journey. So I hope you enjoy my content on my blogs. Let’s get started.

Who Am I?

As I mentioned above, my name is Jhana Matthews. I am a 32 year old disability advocate and writer. I am currently in College at Full Sail University to try to obtain my degree in Creative Writing. My goal is to write scripts and find people who has a real disability because nowadays, people with actual disabilities has the right to be in the spotlight because there are hidden talents behind the curtains that society does not know about because they don’t give people with disabilities the proper credit. 

What do I like to do?

As you may have guessed, I love to write. I mostly write Romance, disability and I just started to write paranormal stories. I am also a published author for a year after I took it down to rework it. I just finished a book that should be out in 2025, hopefully sooner. So please stay tuned. 

You can view my blogs on Blogger, Tumblr, Medium, and Wordpress. I will be trying to post my blogs Twice or three times a week. Since I am recreating my blogs from my other accounts. 

How I became a blogger?

In 2020, I met a guy who I thought was a good friend, advocate and writer. I won’t tell you what went wrong with our friendship but what I will tell you is that I used to blog for him on his website for one year and I fell in love with writing blogs. I promised myself that I wouldn’t blog because I thought it was stupid. Little did I know that I would create my own website and start blogging. There are many types of bloggers. Fitness and wellness blogs, food blogs, Travel blogs, Lifestyle blogs, personal blogs and so much more. But the type of blogs that I write are disability blogs. I help people by giving them advice. That’s what I love doing. I had multiple blogs in the past. SB and Hydro warriors, Warriors of ALL disabilities and Advocating and writing. Now I just have Jhana’s Writing Journey on blogger, Tumblr, Medium and wordpress. I loved how my blogs made people feel, ever since then, I fell in love with writing blogs. I love the way my blogs make people feel. I am excited to share my writing other than my short stories and poetry with the world. 

What I intend to do with this new platform?

Starting today, I plan on posting twice or three times a month. I have a ton of blogs that I need to rewrite so I intend to make my blogs better than before. Please look out for more of my blogs. Thank you for reading.