How do you see yourself? Glee!

What’s it like to be a geek, nerd, well, any walk of life in High School? Nay, what’s it like to be different? What is it like to walk in someone else’s shoes?

Glee, a fictional TV show (just wanted to put that out there first), is a show that explores many different things that teens go through during high school. Not everyone goes through all of it the same way or to the same degrees. But it is interesting to see how the writers take the characters development through the show. What’s not so good is the way the blogosphere and twitterettes sneer at a show making an attempt at showing what it’s like to be different.

While there have been some shows that may feature a character with a disability or maybe a gay character, those are far and few between. This is one of the first shows to be as popular and seen by so many more that is able to get any kind of message out about differing abilities. Worldwide, this show is a hit! While I would prefer a TV show that just has characters on, not for the sake of a disability, but as just a character who happens to have a disability, Glee helps to open more understanding.

Is it all inclusive? Does it represent what all people with disabilities might go through? No. However, 3/4 of our planets population does not have a disability and so doesn’t know what it is like to have one. What’s happening on the blogosphere is that some people with disabilities, knowing full well what it is like to live with a disability, are panning the show for it’s portrayal of disabilities. Remember what I said first, it’s fictional. But secondly, some of what they portray is accurate to some living with a disability. And I can see them developing the characters more as time goes on. This is only the first season.

Do some people who have had life altering accidents that paralyze them sometimes think like Artie did about wanting to dance, or even simply walk? Yes. Does that make Artie, or the writers, bad for even thinking so? I don’t think so. For even for the able bodied, it is good to dream or even make goals. Sometimes things are possible.

It’s good to have opinions, it’s good at times to challenge the status quo. It’s also good to lift up the positive. Many have not had a chance to walk in my shoes, to see what it’s like. I try every day to be who I am so people can see, through me, what it’s like to live with my abilities, not my disability. I applaud any attempt, via Youtube or regular TV where showing the positive, yet challenging life of people with disabilities.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject. How do you like the show and the characters they are developing? Do you think some people with disabilities go through what these characters are? Has this show opened your eyes (for those without disabilities) to varying abilities around you? Comment and let me know your opinion.