Lily wishes able-bodied people knew the truth about how she thinks of her wheelchair

Lily knows how many people in the able-bodied world view people who use wheelchairs.

It’s there in the countless stares she experiences whenever she ventures out into her regional New South Wales town, and in every averted gaze.

There’s one day, in particular, Lily remembers feeling more of these looks than any other: her first day of Year 7.

She didn’t know anyone. Instead of the 80 or so students she was used to sharing her former primary school with, there were about 900 other pupils to contend with.

When the 18-year-old Yuin-Jerrinja woman rolled into the first school assembly, everyone turned and stared at her.