Welcome to Twenty-Something Spoonie!

(Image: Wooden letter board with a spoon above gray text that reads "Welcome to Twenty-Something Spoonie!")

Hello! Whether you're a frequent participant in online chronic illness and disability communities, a curious loved one of a disabled individual, or just someone who's happened to stumble onto our blog randomly, welcome to Twenty-Something Spoonie! For our first post, we'd like to address some basics to get readers a little bit acquainted with our mission and some questions that may come up, so without further ado:

Who are we?

Twenty-Something Spoonie is a publication project for spoonie young adults by spoonie young adults, focusing on both our shared and unique experiences. We recognize that young adults with a chronic illness or disability can often times have a vastly different experience than those who are much younger or older, and want to provide a space for us to openly discuss and share an honest look into our everyday lives — our biggest goal is to uplift our important voices that might otherwise be spoken over and go unheard.

So, what exactly is a "spoonie?"

The term spoonie originates from an essay that's become quite popular within the chronic illness and disability communities, The Spoon Theory by Christine Miserando. Ms. Miserando's essay paints a metaphor for disability using spoons to represent energy, explaining while that an able-bodied, healthy individual begins each day with an infinite amount of spoons, those of us who are disabled have a limited amount. Every task that one might complete throughout the day (even ones that most would consider to be simple) require a certain level of energy — or "spoons" — that we need to budget for, and run out of much more easily.

Sounds great — how can I get involved?

First things first, thank you for your interest in writing with the Twenty-Something Spoonie team! Although this project was started by one person, the hope is that it'll soon grow to a team of around 5-10 writers. After all, while all our voices are independently important, one person doesn't reflect the experiences of an entire demographic (nor does a small team of individuals, but it's certainly a bit more diverse that way)! Shortly, we'll be setting up a Google form for interested contributors along with a post that describes in more detail what we're looking for in writers and terms of commitment. Additionally, if you aren't interested in a consistent writing position, we may occasionally have posts where we look for quotes and/or other input from the community, so keep an eye out from that!

I'm a friend/family member/partner/etc. of someone who's a young adult spoonie. Can I contribute?

It's great that you're taking interest in a more personal, sometimes "uncomfortable" part of your loved one's life! A lot of time, we lack support from those closest to us. However, since we're a space for and by spoonie young adults first and foremost, we're looking exclusively for contributors who identify under that umbrella. Of course, you're more than welcome to read, share, and interact with our content — in fact, we encourage it! But if you'd like to share your experiences, there are other places that may fit that bill a little bit better. Disability-focused online publication The Mighty welcomes contributions from parents or others with disabled or chronically ill loved ones (as well as those who may not fall within the "young adult category); for a broader platform, Medium is a very user-friendly article writing site that is an excellent alternative to say, having your own blog or publication. Though writers have an option to monetize articles with the Medium Partner Program, there's also a lot of wonderful articles that are free to read (plus you get three free "premium" articles a month).

I'm having accessibility/other issues with your site, how can I let you know?

Being a publication geared for those who are disabled or chronically ill, accessibility is one of our biggest and most important focuses. As not everyone has the same accessibility needs, there may be times when a reader will come across an accessibility issue on our site. Of course, we want to hear about these issues so they can be corrected promptly and help us make this space accessible to all! There are several way to contact us. Here on the blog, we have a contact form in the sidebar, which allows you to fill out your name, email, and a message. This way, we're able to respond directly to you privately about your questions or concerns — you can also reach us directly this way at twentysomethingspoonie@gmail.com. We can also be reached through Facebook Messenger! (Please note that while we also can see the comments left on our posts, the methods listed above are preferred and will lead to a quicker response time)

Again, we'd like to take a moment to thank you for beginning this journey with us! We're excited for what the future may bring and are looking forward to travelling this road with you all!

— The Twenty-Something Spoonie Team