…the love you take is equal to the love you make.

It’s been a while old friend…

I’ve basically had a whirlwind couple of weeks – last week saw me working with the Deaf Unity team at our first ever Deaf Learners Conference, then I basically crashed and took it easy for a few days before writing a report of the day. Then it was my little sister Sarah’s birthday and we were celebrating all day on Saturday.

This week has been interesting – on Monday myself, Dan and Sarah popped over to the Westminster University Mixed Media Fine Art degree show as we had a friend of the family exhibiting there. It was quiet on Monday, but we were there nearer the end of the day, so it was nice to walk around and take things in without too many people there. It’s always great to see what Students come up with in degree shows, it can be interesting and inspiring, and this was one of those times.

The CEO of Deaf Unity (Abdi Gas) has gone travelling to Dubai, Israel and Jordan this month, so he’s left me in charge of Deaf Unity’s social media until the end of June; things are going to be busier than usual. I’m really enjoying editing and commissioning articles, I feel so energised by the ethos of Deaf Unity. I believe in positive action and discussion, and it feels as though I’m doing something worthwhile. Not that writing isn’t worthwhile! Just that it’s also good to be involved in things that change the world for the better.

I’ve always wanted to do something that makes the world a better place in some way. Through doing what I love best – writing, editing and journalism, I’m doing something positive for deaf people. It has taken me a while to get there, and it’s still a voluntary position in the meantime (we need more funding), but I feel that we’re making waves!

I’ve also been thinking a lot about how it is always best to treat people as you want to be treated yourself. I’ve discovered that sometimes people disappoint you, and feelings get hurt but you can’t let that make you feel bitter or cynical. There are enough lovely people out there to balance out the pain of disappointment when someone treats someone badly.

Basically – the love you take is equal to the love you make. The past few years I’ve learnt a lot about emotions, and have understood myself better in terms of how to bring myself out of my low moods, and how to choose to focus on the positives rather than the negatives. It’s harder, I think, to have a positive attitude – I’ve had to work on it and I don’t take it for granted.

‘There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.’ – Edith Wharton.