ePortfolio - Kelsey Bernhauser

Society views dis/ability as something "bad" and "not normal". Whether someone has an intellectual, physical, or mental deficit, they are viewed as dis/abled. In the article, the prefix dis indicates " indicates negation, lack or deprivation: to deprive something of its power. We feel this when we disagree. To negate is to nullify, invalidate, render null and void, make invalid, neutralise, cancel out, undo, reverse, revoke, rescind, abrogate, overrule, over turn, avoid and retract. To dis is to trouble" ( Goodley & Runswick-Cole, 2016)  This article strives to disrupt the narrative that dis/abled people are "different" and therefore have different needs and wants. When in reality, they are entitled to the same rights to a job, a family, and a home.  Because we have been socialized to think of dis/abled as "less than", people have been focused on finding cures, lessening "symptoms", and making their experiences mor...

i) Growing up I never felt that gender norms were imposed on me by my immediate family. My parents always were supportive when I had a Spider-Man obsession, made sure I knew how to change tires, mow the lawn, bought me and my sister Nerf guns, attended our sports events, and groomed us to cheer on the Boston Bruins. However, they also put us in ballet classes, piano lessons, taught us how to cook, got us Bratz dolls, and let us play with mom’s old makeup. I think that my childhood was an equal balance of "boy" activities and "girl" activities. I can relate to Chandria's Self Story 4 because of the way hat other girls see her as a "boy". I never touched makeup until grade 9 when I got to high school. I also thought that braids and makeup was a "girly-girl" thing growing up. I am reminded of my own story when the other girls in Chandria's story say that "she's such a boy." In my own story I talk about how much I lik...

I run into the kitchen with excitement. A big smile crosses my face as I see my mom finishing up my birthday cake. Its got red and blue icing and looks big enough to feed all my friends and family twice! I take a closer look and notice what something sitting on top of the cake. It is a small red and blue vehicle with my favourite super-hero sitting on top of it. Spider-Man! The smile grows even bigger on my face. I love Spider-Man so much. The toy on the cake matches my Spider-Man shirt and Spider-Man shorts. I cant wait to blow out the candles. "Can we eat it soon so I can play with the Spider-Man toy?" I ask my mom. "Soon. How about we do presents first?" she replies. I nod enthusiastically and go to living room where my family sits. I look at all the beautifully wrapped presents. Some are in bags with Super-Heroes covering the front with blue and red tissue sticking out. Some of them are in boxes with more Spider-Man wrapping or birthday paper that I cant wait ...

“Girls come eat, breakfast is ready!” my mom shouts from the kitchen. I hurry to put on my new jeans and t-shirt. A special back-to-school outfit that my mom bought for me. I finish getting dressed, brush my hair, and then proceed to the kitchen. The rich smell of waffles and syrup fill my nose. My little sister is already seated at the kitchen table eating her breakfast. She is wearing her new school outfit too. I look down at the two toaster-waffles on my plate next to some bananas and strawberries. I drench the waffles in maple syrup before scarfing them down. My stomach is growling from being too full after I am done eating. Waffles are one of my favourite breakfast foods. I wish my mom would have remembered to buy wipe cream to go with them. Oh well, next time. My sister and I put our shoes on just as the bus arrives to take us to school. On the bus ride, my stomach won’t stop moaning. I shouldn’t have eaten that extra waffle, but it tasted so good. I ignore the growling o...

I jump off the yellow school bus for the first time. I rode the bus all by myself, not as scary as I thought it would be. One step at a time, I follow the other kid towards the playground. There so many things to do and obstacles to play on. Monkey bars, slides, swings, teeter-totters, ladders, and I don’t know what that thing is but looks fun. All the bars and slides are bright colours of red, green, yellow and blue. All colours that contrast the pale tone of my skin. I look at the girl beside me and see my favourite colour, pink. She has on a pink shirt, pink shorts and pink… hair? She is far more colourful than anyone else on the playground. The girl climbs on the monkey bars across from me, pulls herself up and hangs from her knees. Her hair is done in long, thick, pink braids. I am jealous. I want pink hair. Why can’t I have hair like that? As she swings back and forth, her braids come up and hit her back, then come back around and brush against the dark skin on her face. ...

"Beautiful sunset tonight, isn't it?" my dad asks me. I take in my surroundings. Lines of fire mark the sky from the setting sun. The bold streaks of orange, pink, red and blue fading into one another to create the sky that Saskatchewan is famous for. The sun, glowing and big, continues to submerge itself into the water on the horizon. Bathing itself in the low waves of the lake. The wind wisps across the water causing small ripples in the lake, then brushes against my skin. I shiver, at the cool air. The wind causes my hair to whisk across my face, just like it moves the clouds to create an ever changing fleet of colours in the sky. I look across the water, following the spotlight of the setting sun back to the shoreline. Calm waves lazily fall against the sand and touch my toes. The water feels warm and comforting. I walk further into the lake and feel the meek waves reach my ankles. I reach down into the clear water to look for the best skipping stone. This rock ...