Hi Everyone! I have opted to write my blog piece rather than
to do a video blog as I don’t particularly like cameras (of the video kind) and as
I have a squeaky voice! Anyway, the aspect of my self that I would like Carolyn
to experience is my extreme vertigo. It highlights itself most predominantly
throughout my everyday with my
inability to use stairs- but only if there are any gaps, for example; hand
rails with gaps, glass Handrails and steps with gaps in between them. It seems
like quite a simple thing but its effects on my ‘everyday’ are quite complex
and sometimes very hindering. An example of this is my journey to and from
university- most people would come back the same way they came but I get the
train to university taking an hour but buses home taking almost 2 hours or
sometimes longer. This is because of a temporary bridge (my worst nightmare)
connecting platforms which most people just walk over but I tried and had a panic
attack leaving me stuck on a bridge and causing a bit of a commotion! I also have to find elevators instead of
stairs at university which sometimes is a problem, only a few weeks ago I missed
an appointment in the Warmington tower as the escalators were not working and
it was on floor nine!
I also find Underground stations a challenge, not so much
because of the stairs but the gaps on the platforms. I have to find different
routes to certain places if I find the particular station platform
uncomfortable to walk on; For example, at bank station the platform is thin and
rounded so I avoid it as I cant walk to the other lines I need to interchange
onto and instead I go to Moorgate and back on myself to get to Liverpool
Street. So for Carolyn to experience this I have given her these examples and have
asked Carolyn to avoid stairs where ever possible and to look for elevators
instead and to get the train to university but the bus home, it takes roughly
the same amount of time for us both to get home by bus which is ideal.
I in turn have been given a set of rules that I have to
follow so I can understand what it is like to have Diabetes. I have to be awake at 12am for an ‘injection’ (I
have to think of what It would be like as I can’t actually inject myself) and
awake at 8.00am for an ‘injection’ I have to calculate all of my Carbs in order
to be able to calculate the insulin units I would have to take and I have to
avoid sugary drinks (which I drink a lot of). These are all things Carolyn has
to carry out on an everyday basis just to stay alive.
So I began last night. I found it easy to be awake at 12.00
am for my first ‘injection’ as I am just returning from work at this time so am
usually awake, however on the way home I bought a tub of ice-cream and bottle
of Prosecco to celebrate some good news with in the family, however when I got
home I realised that I was unable to drink the Prosecco (sad face) and had to
calculate the Carbs from the ice-cream and ‘inject’ the appropriate amount of
insulin before eating it, however by the time I had worked it out I no longer
wanted the ice-cream so did not eat it. I set my alarm for 8.00 am and woke up
at 8am, usually I would wake up later on my day off and the first thing I would
do is make a cup of tea, I instead woke up and had to think about what it would
be like to wake up and inject myself every morning, it was quite a sombre
thought. I also did not have my tea as I could not figure out the Carb intake
so instead had a green tea…caffeine withdrawals pursued… For lunch I had a tin
of tomato soup and two slices of bread, and calculated the units I would need
to inject myself with, but having to exchange soup for an injection (in my case
the thought of one) or any food stuff for an injection isn’t very pleasing so I
find I have been skipping things instead as I imagine I would do if I needed to
actually inject myself. I am yet to have dinner but I am thinking of what I
will have already! Whilst I am having an insight into Carolyn’s world I think I
would need to do this for a longer period of time to fully understand or better
understand it.
It’s because of this
that I don’t think that swapping aspects like this will fully allow us into each
others worlds, particularly because of the lack of time in carrying out the
activities, I feel we will only get a superficial understanding or as deep a
understanding as our empathy will allow us which I think is often the case
anyway. I do think however it is the idea behind the exchange of aspects which
is most prevalent as it shows us how the most minute aspects of our everyday
lives can be incredibly complex and this can be transferred onto other things such
as our everyday consumption which we become very (though not completely) passive
too and a recognition of this. I noticed this with in my ‘everyday’ when I
challenged it and brought into my daily life the aspect Carolyn asked me to
carry out especially with regards to the food I consume and the reasons (or
lack of) that I consume it. So for me it’s not so much carrying out the
activities with in the project that will make a difference but rather the macro
level of understanding around the everyday lives that we begin to gain when
we challenge our own everyday lives by
integrating (even just for a time) an aspect of somebody else’s.
Amanda :)
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