A passion for music saw final year student Georgina Parker volunteering to run the Brain Charity’s new choir, and three years on, the 20 year old has no regrets.
In a piece for the charity, Georgina, who is studying Music at Liverpool Hope, explained how she first joined a choir aged seven and found it a great way to meet friends who could see past her disability. Georgina has Ehlers-Dantos Syndrome and uses a wheelchair to get around.
She explained: “I also have dyspraxia and dyslexia, so that can make life as a student quite difficult. Hope University have arranged fully accessible accommodation for me and they are very understanding about my constant hospital admissions and the difficulties I face day-to-day. Unlike school, my fellow university students don’t care about my disabilities and I’ve made some really good friends and have a great social life.”
Despite an active social life and studying keeping her busy, Georgina decided in her first year at university to expand her horizons further and volunteer for the choir lead position.
She said: “The Brain Charity is a very unique charity, it’s warm and welcoming from the minute you step through the door and I never feel the ‘odd one’ out when I’m there. There’s so much positivity and laughter that brings with it a real sense of community and it’s all about leading your life to the full, not being a victim of your circumstance, which for someone young like me is a real boost that helps me to think about the future in a positive way.”
The Brain Charity was founded in Liverpool in 1993 and provides emotional support, practical help and social activities for people with neurological conditions, and their friends, family and carers.
Find out more about the charity and read Georgina’s article in full here.