Hello World

I have read a few other peoples first blog posts for a little inspiration and a lot of them say pretty much the same things like, ‘I don’t know what to put’ and ‘I’m nervous about telling the whole world about my life’. I’m nervous too, because I don’t really share any of my personal information with anyone and thats kind of the problem. I have isolated myself, and even though (from what I’ve been told) a lot of people like to assume whats going on for me, they really don’t know. So I think this blog is a good idea to get certain things off my chest and set the record straight about a few things maybe. - I have had a bit of a turbulent life so far to say the least and I would like to share my experiences with everyone, maybe help somebody going through what I’ve already been through or be helped by somebody else and just to document and talk about things that I enjoy in my life, a way of socializing really...

My name is Chloe, Im currently 23 years old and I live in Derbyshire with my Mum, my two Dogs whose names are Roley and Tinkerbell, and my Goldfish, Bambi and Raphael (My Mother named it Raphael, I would NEVER give an animal such a silly name).

I was diagnosed with Freidreich’s ataxia in January 2002 at the age of 11. Freidreich’s ataxia is an inherited disease that causes progressive damage to the nervous system - Basically I have quite a severe lack of coordination. I had to start using a wheelchair in 2005 and I have developed scoliosis (curvature of the spine).

I am also transgender. I started to ‘officially’ transition in 2010 but obviously the whole ‘journey’ started even before I was skipping down the garden path wearing my big sister’s pink bridesmaids dress, proudly proclaiming that ‘I WANT TO BE A GIRL!’ aged 3.

I never usually tell people on the internet the latter two paragraphs, maybe because it’s non of their business but mainly because I am too embarrassed or nervous about how people will react, I think after seeing my picture its the last thing they are expecting to hear and I don’t think ‘Hi, I’m a disabled trans-woman’ is a very good ice breaker - more like an ‘ice reinforcer’. I have also used this method of ‘communication’ in my daily life and have tried to keep my disability a ‘secret’ - a secret that everyone knows; which as a result, has left me feeling very disconnected from other people and life in general.

I absolutely LOVE Britney Spears, she is the most prettiest thing I ever did see y'all, and I have been obsessed with the TV show ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ ever since I saw the vampire Angel played by David Boreanaz when I was 7. - In the words of Cordelia Chase ‘Hello salty goodness’

Anyway, thats enough for now, Im not the most articulate person ever and a little rusty on the whole punctuation and grammar thing as I’ve not really used those kinds of skills since I quit college after 2 months back in 2006 - So if you love all things trans, disabled, Britney and Buffy (and who doesn’t) or are just intrigued and want to know more about my life, then follow/comment/recommend or whatever you do on here.

Feel free to drop me a tweet @chloejgratton or add me on Facebook > chloejgratton :)