Two weeks, 3 awards nights…

Club

The first was for Worthing Town U18s. It was an evening spent surrounded by my team. My first game for them was the best I think I have ever played. I finally didn’t have two left feet and I had more chances on target in that game than I think I had all of the 23-24 season.

My last three games I ended up playing an half in goal (as a striker, this was completely new territory!!), and guess what? 1 goal conceded and 2 clean sheets. Can you believe it? Unfortunately (or not so), I am turning 18 and going to Uni so can no longer play in the team. Every player is incredible, and I wish them all the best for the seasons to come ❤️

College

The second was for Worthing College Women’s Football Academy. Now this one was interesting… All of the teams did incredibly well; the Women’s Rugby and Men’s Football both came second in their respective national cups. The Netballers and Basketballers both did great in their leagues. And after 7 whole years of hard work and a few different teams, we brought the Sussex County Cup back to Worthing College!!!!

I am proud to say that this won us “Team of the Year”, and training alongside this incredibly talented group of players this season has really boosted by skill development and confidence. Some of my teammates have even managed to bag themselves scholarships to the USA, which I will most definitely be bragging about in the not so distant future.

Community

Last but by no means least, we have Worthing Community Awards. What an event: 18 winners, fish and chips, beautiful trophies and incredible music. I am still lost for words really. Somehow, out of everyone nominated in Worthing, I managed to win the Young Community Hero award. The Paine Foundation has barely even begun yet and it has already won me an award!!!!

This award isn’t just for me though. It’s for everyone who has felt like they don’t fit in, for everyone who struggles every day with health conditions that no one can see, and for the people who dedicate their lives to educating society and bringing awareness to disabilities. The word disability itself is very misleading. Has anyone seen the clip of Novak Djokovic trying (and failing) to play Wheelchair Tennis? It looks really hard, and he is one of the best Tennis players in the world. Having a disability is not having less ability, it’s having different abilities, and adapting the skills that the majority of people, including myself, take for granted.

Spinabifida is a part of my everyday life. It is the thing that has been with me night and day for almost 18 years, and it affects me not only physically but mentally too. I am so lucky to be able to do what I do without many adaptations, with the type of Spinabifida I have, I shouldn’t be able to walk unaided, and yet I can. That is why I think it is so important to remove the grey area between “abled” and “disabled”, because everyone is different. No one deserves to feel alone in their own body.

Thank yous

So thank you to everyone that has supported me throughout the years, my parents, my teachers and my friends. Thank you to the judges of Worthing Community Awards for picking me out of everyone nominated.

Thanks for reading. See you in the next one 😊

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