As most bloggers do, British makeup artist and video blogger Jordan Bonereceives a plethora of comments from viewers— some positive, many negative.
Often times, those commenters speak without thinking, without realizing who they could be hurting.
So in an effort to deter negative commenters, Jordan decides to address them in a heartfelt video.
“People on social media sometimes say things without thinking, and sometimes it hurts,” she admits.
She says that whenever she uploads a video, she gets a lot of comments about her hands. Then she reveals something that she doesn’t usually put out there on the screen.
“The truth is— I can’t move them, open them, or close them.”
Jordan explains that a car accident ten years ago left her a tetraplegic. She has been wheelchair bound ever since. Depression set in as she struggled to figure out what she could do with her “what seemed useless hands.”
She didn’t want to be defined by her disability, she wanted to be Jordan.
“Being the girl in the wheelchair wasn’t my plan. I didn’t want people to see just the chair.”
After many tears, bouts of frustrations, and ‘Why me’ moments, Jordan made a decision.
She would persevere. She would refuse to lose her identity to that of “the girl in the chair.”
With challenges, came growth. With darkness, came light. And slowly but surely she became Jordan again.
“To be able to do makeup good enough to show you guys is a massive achievement for me.”
As she instructs in her makeup blogs, she gives her viewers an important life lesson.
“Like contouring and highlighting teaches us, where there is darkness there is always light,” she says. “That is the same with life. No matter what hardship you’re going through, know that even in the darkest times there will always be a light shining brighter.”
She advises her commenters to think before they speak, to be sensitive to the feelings of others.
Just because they’re sharing their skills on the screen doesn’t mean their immune to hurtful comments.
“So next time you ask someone a sensitive question or leave a negative comment just think. Think about how it may affect their day.”
Jordan reminds her fans to spread positivity and always be kind. Because as she so aptly puts it, “Life is far too short to waste it with negativity.”
