Introducing our new ambassador…Natalie!
Pictured above: our July Newsletter cover featuring Natalie (she/they), get2gether’s newly appointed ambassador!
On this month’s cover we have the wonderful Natalie! get2gether’s newly appointed ambassador. We chatted to Natalie about their interests, hopes for their new role, their favourite things about get2gether and advice they’d give to those interested in becoming a member of get2gether!
Introduce yourself!
Who are you? What are your passions?
Hi my name is Natalie and I’m get2gether’s new ambassador! My passions are Buffy, Supernatural, space, Celtic F.C, Autism and neurodiversity, LGBT issues, human rights, disability rights, equality, and things that impact lots of people like homelessness and mental health issues.
Congrats on being appointed as get2gether’s new ambassador!
What are you most excited about for your role? Do you have any events in the works?
Thank you very much! I’m most excited about coming up with events that members will enjoy and meeting members who prefer to go to in person events, people who I haven’t met through Zoom events. Also just getting to know people and finding my way around Edinburgh!
I have an idea to do a ‘Scavenger Hunt’ at the National Museum, people could move around the museum either by themselves or in a group to find something e.g. ‘something that flies’ – and they can go around and try and find it and write it down or take a selfie with it. Then afterwards we can all go and get coffee and share our findings! Hopefully it would make a museum trip that bit more interesting! I’ve also got some events in the works for July like Thoughts and Feelings with Stephan (Wednesday 13th July, 3-4:30, Starbucks 47 Leith St.) and Movie Monday with DJ Andy Nae Ice (Monday 25th July, time and film TBC.)
You’ve been a member of get2gether for almost a year now!
What motivated you to apply for the ambassador role? What’s your favourite thing about get2gether?
I’d seen how good Stephan, Katrina and Andrew were at it and it sounded like a fun job and I thought ‘I may as well try. Why not? What is the worst thing that could happen?’ and I thought I could bring something different to get2gether. I saw it as a big learning opportunity for me to get a bit more confidence and learn how to deal with change. To be an ambassador I need to learn how to deal with that and ways of working around it, so I thought it would help push me out of my comfort zone. With disabilities you tend to focus on what you can’t do, rather than the abilities you have and since joining get2gether I’ve totally changed my attitude. I now think ‘why not?’ if I have the opportunity to do something new, and even if things go wrong I deal with it then, rather than saying ‘no’ to everything. I wanted to prove to myself that I can do these things and to prove to other people that I am capable.
My favourite thing about get2gether is the community feel. It doesn’t matter who it is that comes to the events, it’s so welcoming, friendly and you can meet with a range of people. Everyone is just so accepting and welcoming and wanting to help each other – I love it! I learn a lot from it too.
Let’s talk get2gether members!
Is there anything you’d like get2gether members to know about you? What would you say to people who are interested in signing up as a get2gether member but are a bit nervous?
That I don’t take things too seriously! I’ve got a good sense of humour. Also that I think, disability or not, you shouldn’t let anything hold you back from doing what you want to do. You’re more capable of things than you realise.
Definitely sign up anyway! There’s no pressure to join in with anything you don’t want to join in with or talk if you don’t want to talk or do anything you don’t want to do. But if you become a member, you have the opportunity to think ‘well I’m not ready right now, but there’s an event coming up in a couple of weeks – maybe by then I might feel a bit more comfortable!’. It’s good to build it up bit-by-bit – you’ve got nothing to lose, only things to gain by becoming a member. I don’t think you’ll regret it.
Final thoughts?
Joining get2gether gave me more confidence to try news things, discover more about myself and travel on my own further than I’d ever been before. I am the happiest I’ve ever been and I want be able help other people on their journeys so that they can experience that at their own pace in ther own way. Get2gether gave me a purpose in life when before I was just existing.