Contributing opinion writer
Ben T. Elwy
Ben T. Elwy ’23 lives in Quincy House. His column “Living a Disabled Life” appears on alternate Tuesdays.
Latest Content
The Edge of Dawn
And so dawn comes, and the days pass. And in their light, I want to choose to look ahead and to see my own smile on my own face. It’s a smile that says, “Through the good and the bad, I’ll always be there for myself, whoever I was, am, and will be.”
Again, Because You Were There
The least we can do is send them off with a smile, once we’re ready. A smile that says, “We aren’t together anymore, but I see a new world worth living for, and I’ll take you there; and I became a person who could say that, because you were there.”
Surely Someday
“Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit,” Aeneas says to the surviving Trojans as they take shelter in an inlet on the coast of Libya, far away from their home sacked by the Greeks, their fleet wrecked by a divine storm: “Perhaps one day it will help us to remember this too.”
One More Day
I’m drafting this piece on my phone as I lie in bed, straining to see against the rising sun’s glare. This place has amazing strawberry pancake wraps, but still, a stay in a psych ward is not the vacation I was hoping for.
A Moment of Eternity
I didn’t choose to be disabled, to be mentally ill, to be queer, to want time to stop. But that’s how I am, and I’d like to be proud of that. So at this moment, I want to understand how to move on from uncertainty, regret, and pain, within the limits of this world; how we define and accept ourselves through the smiles we choose.
Dream a New Dream for Tomorrow
If my writing has made you imagine anything you’ve never imagined before — made you question yourself and your world, made you uneasy, made you uncomfortable — don’t push that away. Think about it, talk about it, bring it with you on your own path; live it, remember it. Those are dreams.
Broken Mirror, A Million Shades of Light
Living a disabled life means that I fall, and as I lie stunned, I see my reality of existing in this world reflected on a mirror of concrete or tile. But it’s a broken mirror, cracked by many falls; and in its brokenness, it refracts light into a million component shades, revealing not only my struggles, but — if I focus beyond my newly-acquired scrapes and bruises — all the smiles and tears of my life.
‘Kirby and the Forgotten Land’ Review: The ‘Kirby’ Series Discovers A New World
Kirby could hardly ask for a better birthday present.
These Disabled Harvard Students Will Inspire You
(Disclaimer: This piece is satirical in nature, and these students do not exist.) This week, I decided to sit down with two disabled students to discuss their experiences at Harvard and what “living a disabled life” means to them.
11 P.M.
Living a disabled life means that disability forms part of my identity, shaping the experience of my life in a meaningful way beyond what others can see. Because disability leaves a mental impact, and mental health takes a tangible form.
A Star Turns 30: The Sparkling Legacy of the ‘Kirby’ Franchise
Until Kirby lights up screens and smiles once again, players can reflect on 30 years of naptimes and snacks, and they can gaze up at the sparkling stars, each in their own unique way.
A Place in the Sun
Living a disabled life means that the obstacles I face don’t end with my genetics. On the contrary, as much as my condition may hurt, the ableism I endure in social spheres always inflicts the deeper pain. We live alone even while surrounded by others, isolated in plain sight. It’s time that people, individually and collectively, learned to look beyond the glare into the shadows.
The First Nintendo Direct of 2022: Surprises and Revivals
Last Thursday, Feb. 9, Nintendo aired their first Nintendo Direct of the year.
What Are Our Lives Worth?
Living a disabled life means living a life others consider not worth living, worth valuing. But I like myself as I am, more or less, so I don’t want your misdirected prayer book. I want your action towards changing the culture around us, for everyone’s sake. Don’t forget the older faculty, the staff with young children, the healthy students who’ll develop long Covid and become disabled; all the people you’ll never meet but whose lives you may irreversibly affect.
Why We Founded the Harvard Undergraduate Disability Justice Club
Harvard prides itself on being a national and global leader. It has the ability to set a powerful standard for the world that catalyzes change. It’s time for Harvard, both as an institution and as a community, to step up and take a prominent role in increasing accessibility and combating ableism on campus.
