Disabilities often hold a presence amongst the world that is associated with sentiments of pity or negativity. Society conditions people to think that because we may do every day tasks quite the same as others, we are somehow “damaged” or incapable of leading a normal, fruitful life. I’d like to think that living life a bit differently has made me more aware of the world that surrounds me. I know there are people out there like me who feel “stuck”, and I feel that my purpose on this planet is to help people and get them away from the wrongly imposed assumption that they can’t do anything because of their disability; that they can’t achieve their dreams. Sure, a disability is not ideal and it most certainly does come with negative setbacks. However, I would like to bring attention to three major ways I feel that having a disability has positively influenced my life.
Number One: Instills Determination—First of all, I would say that dealing with cerebral palsy has instilled a lot of determination into my daily life. A lot of physical and emotional pain is sometimes present with a disability, and I have had to gradually learn to push through and persevere in order to make life a positive experience. I don’t ever give up, and that’s one thing I like to tell people: Don’t ever give up. Pursue everything you can dream of, because life is full of opportunity, and opportunity doesn’t discriminate. You are not your disability. Drive and determination are the key to success. The way I define success is simply trying, and the attitude with which you try will carry you such a long way.
Number Two: Gives You A Tougher Skin: I feel that having to cope with my disability has slowly given me a tougher skin. People who face challenges such as these go through more than most. I am a very sensitive person in some respects and I feel things such as rejection much more strongly than others because I dealt with a lot of that growing up. I have become tougher through the years, and I have developed a deeper compassion for those around me. My passion is helping others to grab onto their talents and become fulfilled individuals. I have not yet arrived to my full potential, but I’m going to keep working to get myself there.
Number Three: Helps You to Appreciate Life—Life with a disability has taught me to appreciate simplicity and to not sweat the small stuff. Cerebral palsy has led me to battles with depression in the past, because I have tried to be something I wasn’t; I was once focused on being a people pleaser; living that way can destroy your life. The positive aspect of going through that trial was that I learned what kind of person I could be. I realized that I hold the power to decide what direction life takes me. We all have that power within us. We can choose to make life more complicated than it has to be, or we can choose to live simply. We as people can let life and our disabilities define us, or we can define ourselves. Which will you choose? The choice is yours to make.
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