Visibility, or “feeling seen,” emerges as a dominant theme of what Diabetes Link seeks to cultivate in the University community. Through day-to-day activities, the club’s members enjoy an environment that accepts their experiences and encourages them to speak out.
Ide, Jareb and Hinton agree that having a pet has enhanced their mental health, brought them closer to the University community and added warmth and joy to their living spaces. Regardless of where these pets came from or whether they are officially there for emotional support, they have enriched their owners’ lives.
“When I don’t wear a cap in the water, that is me saying ‘Hey, I’m bald, and I love it,’ and this is who I am and even though I have alopecia, this is what I’m capable of doing,” Hayes said. “It doesn’t stop me. I want to show people that even if you have an autoimmune disease, a disability, anything, that you are capable of achieving your goals, that nothing is standing in your way.”
But I learned perhaps the most important lesson about mental health before I even arrived at my first appointment. Signing up for CAPS, and taking that first step to seek help, brought more relief than “pushing through” ever did.
Despite its chaotic pacing, the film’s highlighting of society’s obsessions with aesthetics and appearance makes it a poignant meditation on perception and identity. Although it may discuss a tired topic — like the cliché of finding one’s inner beauty — the movie makes up for it in style and shock.
Our University continues to overlook infrastructural inaccessibility, estranging students with disabilities.