THIS IS: BRYONY’S STORY

I want to be 100% honest in sharing my journey. Growing up when I thought of the word beauty I was everything beauty wasn’t. We had a negative relationship for years. I was short, disabled, had curly hair and had body hair to name a few. I wasn’t tall and slim I wasn’t model material by a long way.

My journey with self love, self compassion and self acceptance is a journey I am very munch still on. Some days are good others not so good. There are days I don’t want to get out of bed. I hear voices that say very negative things to me. Which really impacts the way I see myself.

I have a disability called cerebral palsy right hemiplegia and a learning disability. At school I was bullied for being different. For looking and dressing different. This lead to PTSD, depression, and anxiety. At school there was a time when I thought maybe I should change my appearance to fit in. So the “popular” people wouldn’t pick on me. They ended up befriending me only to bully me. It was a very sad dark time. I wanted to disappear. But I learnt you can try and change yourself again and again and again. But whatever you do; others will also look for something to pick on.

I got called “bushy” for having curly hair. I got called a monkey because of my facial hair and bring Asian . My facial hair at the time was very difficult for me and caused so much pain as I wasn’t allowed to do hair removal. I would get called " peg leg“ for wearing a splint because of my disability. So I would only wear trousers to school to cover it. This lasted from the age of 11-16. I did regularly weekly sessions with CAMHS I am now with adult mental health. On tougher days I found that walking my dog helped me a lot as as it got me out and about. The fresh air, the sound of the birds. Autumn is the best because every is so colourful. And in spring I get to see the baby lambs playing in the field. Also pets don’t judge you. They love you who you are. On your best and on the not so good they cheer you up. For me the phrase “ a dog is a man’s best friend “ is 110% true!

Fast forward to now and I feel I can be more myself. I have a support worker who helps me in the home and in the community. I have found a love for acting and modelling and now have an agent. It makes me feel so empowered. I’m proud to be me! I have an amazing online community through my Instagram and have made friends for life. We share our experiences, we lift each other, it’s incredible how the internet can be such an amazing tool to communicate, to advocate, to make a difference and not feel so alone.

I live with dissociative seizures which I have many daily. They look a lot like an epileptic fit. I have many different types. I haven’t always had seizures. They started when I was 14. This was a hard thing for me to process. I didn’t want to go out. I didn’t leave my room. I had to use a wheelchair full time for a few years. This effected my confidence I didn’t think my friends would want to hang out with me as I thought they would think that I was to embarrassing to be seen with. Self love and seizures is hard. Why is my body shaking like crazy, what on earth must others be thinking. Now I say to myself and others. Yes I have seizures but they don’t define me. They don’t define my worth.

I started defeating disability to share my experiences with living with my conditions in the hope to help others. I then started to gain more confidence and wanted to create content about the things I struggle with. I started to do posts about being a curly, curvy, short girl. To doing content about facial and body hair. I love sharing my tips and tricks for hacks for everyday tasks others may find easy. For example opening and turning that stunning lipstick up or doing your lipliner, to creating eyeshadow looks using your fingers as a tool if holding brushes you find difficult like me.

I then looked into doing acting and modelling as I wanted to change and challenge the perceptions of society has on disability. I also wanted / want to show others that they are beautiful the way they are. That they are beautiful that what makes them unique, shouldn’t be hidden it should be celebrated! I want to help others realise they need to celebrate being perfectly imperfect because what is beautiful. We are all beautiful as theirs no one quite like you and that is your superpower!

Being a model and actor with a disability, who is curvy and short is definitely not a sentence I thought I would ever say. I have worked on shoots challenging these misconceptions. I recently did a shoot with Canva which was all about bright fashion and cerebral palsy. To doing a short educational film about hidden disabilities. I very often say things like this don’t happen to a girl like me. I’m disabled, I’m short, I’m not skinny, I’m of ethnic minority and I was abandoned at birth in India. Then adopted at 3 months old.

I would love to work with beauty brands to challenge what is beautiful. To help the sector become more inclusive and diverse. We are all beautiful and everyone in society should be represented. From us curly curvy queens to embracing body hair.
I would love to see the beauty industry work with more disabled models and influencers. It’s funny you could pass someone in the street and not even know they are disabled. I would love the industry to work with others who have hidden disability as I feel this needs more representation. One day I would love to have my own inclusive and adoptable makeup range.

Don’t be afraid to stand out. Your uniqueness is a gift. Don’t feel you have to please everyone. Don’t feel ashamed to experiment with your style. Push beauty boundaries. If you feel confident about the way you are. ROCK IT! Don’t feel you have to change yourself to fit into society. Be you and stay true to yourself because that takes courage and is a HUGE achievement.

finally, bryony, what is your definition of beauty?

Beauty for me is when you’re not scared to be the real you. Let them look, let them laugh, let them learn. We are all unique and the gifts we have are ours to keep.

Bryony, you and your story is truly inspirational. It’s absolutely honoured to feature you on TIB.
Follow Bryony here on Instagram @defeatingdisability