TER Lena
Introduce yourself and tell us about yourself.
Hi, I’m Lena Sodska. Before I was injured I was working in a suit company. I really wanted to do the service for the customers. I liked this, but the wheelchair is a bit hard to find a job for face to face customer service. I’m stuck with data input. I work from home.
What would you like to do in the future?
I want to work as a customer service representative or write songs and make music.
How did you start getting into music?
I like to listen to old game music. I was so impressed from that genre. It’s not so complicated, but it’s so nostalgic. I want to make instrumental music or I like jazz and edm too. When I was younger I liked traditional Japanese songs, some of which no one knows who wrote. Sometimes I like to remix the songs in my music. Sometimes I sing. Sometimes. I have one song on iTunes, but yeah.
Who are the closest people in life?
I didn’t know much about the disabled community in the past. Now of course my wheelchair friends and wheelchair girls are closest to me. They are passionate. I cannot say it in English, but they have a power. They are confident and they impress me a lot. They give me motivation about work and equality for disabled persons. We sometimes we meet up for events like sports, weddings, etc. Our community is a minority so we know everyone.
Have you ever protested before?
We don’t necessarily protest, but we post on twitter and I’m doing a project with a friend on YouTube. We are talking about topics like love, relationships, etc. It’s almost hidden. No one knows how we are doing. I want to open the door from this side. We are open to share if you guys want to know.
Tell us more about your Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
We talk casually about these topics. One of the videos is about disabled persons and sex. It’s a very nervous topic, but we just talk about it. We don’t have a script. We just talk about it like normal people do. We make these videos once a month. My friend is really busy because sometimes she works with NHK.
What is Badass Sores and why did you choose the name?
It's the name of the talk show we have. We chose the same because we sit in wheelchairs a lot. We thought the name was funny and cool. We basically get together and talk about topics that affect everyone, not just the disabled community.
What are some problems you have faced in Japan?
Sometimes Japanese people tell us “You have to be more appreciative of what is offered for the disabled community,” but I have a friend who lives in L.A. and that city is very wheelchair friendly compared to Japan. If I could I would go all over the world. I’ve been to London, but at that time, the city was not so accessible, so things are slowly improving. Hopefully we can help make things get better through awareness. Actually, I got closer to people than when I was walking.
Do you have anything to say for people who are going through a similar situation?
For people who are going through something difficult, remember that of course people stare at us, but don't worry about your mental or physical problem. Haters gonna hate because we are too special ;]
