Millie Hardy-Sims
Stories (43)
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Invisibility
There was a time when hiding felt easier. Before the walking stick. Before the Blue Badge. Before the quiet, irreversible shift in how I moved through the world. My disability existed in a space that could be concealed. I could choose when to mention it, when to acknowledge it, when to allow it to exist publicly.
By Millie Hardy-Sims13 days ago in Motivation
Dear Past Me
There is a version of me that still exists in my memory. She moves quickly. She makes plans without hesitation. She says yes without calculating the cost. Her body is not something she negotiates with or questions. It simply works. It carries her forward without resistance, without interruption, without fear.
By Millie Hardy-Sims15 days ago in Motivation
Permission to Rest
Rest used to feel like failure. Before my diagnosis, rest was something I earned after productivity. It was a reward waiting at the end of a finished task list, something to allow myself once everything else had been completed. Rest was optional. It was negotiable. It was something I could postpone in favour of being useful, being present, being enough.
By Millie Hardy-Sims15 days ago in Motivation
The Hidden Truths of Disability
Invisible illness hides more than symptoms. It hides the negotiations. The grief. The private calculations behind ordinary moments. It hides the parts of disability that are not visible in public spaces, not spoken about in polite conversation, and not easily explained.
By Millie Hardy-Sims15 days ago in Motivation
Wicked and the Reality of Disability
The Wicked films arrived wrapped in spectacle. Audiences expected soaring vocals, dazzling visuals, and the familiar emotional weight of a beloved musical brought to life. Few viewers expected to encounter one of Hollywood’s most meaningful recent contributions to disability representation.
By Millie Hardy-Sims16 days ago in Motivation
Proving You’re Disabled Enough
The hardest part of applying for disability benefits was not the paperwork. It was the translation. A life quietly reshaped by illness had to be reduced to tick boxes, descriptors, and carefully worded answers. Pain had to become evidence. Fatigue had to become measurable. Personal limitation had to be presented as a case strong enough to be believed.
By Millie Hardy-Sims16 days ago in Motivation
Internalised Ableism
The question didn’t arrive all at once. It appeared slowly, quietly, in moments I didn’t expect. When I used my walking stick on a day I could technically manage without it. When I parked in a disabled space and stepped out of the car without limping. When I told someone about my diagnosis and watched their eyes search my body for confirmation.
By Millie Hardy-Sims16 days ago in Motivation
Am I Disabled Enough?
The hardest part of using my disabled parking badge isn’t the walking. It’s the watching. The moment I step out of the car, I feel it. The pause. The glance. The subtle double-take as someone tries to reconcile what they see with what they believe disability should look like. Their eyes flick from my face to the badge, then back again, searching for evidence that justifies my presence.
By Millie Hardy-Sims16 days ago in Motivation
