Life is Too Short to Sit on the Sidelines.

Although at times I've hated the implications of being in a wheelchair, I have also found ways to enjoy the heck out of it. Having Cerebral Palsy, has not stopped me from enjoying life to the fullest. I came up with my own unique of doing almost everything my friends do. I admit I have had some mishaps along the way, but each one of those mishaps have been a learning experience, even it meant that I had to make the same mistake twice in order to learn my lesson... I am very stuborn.

In one of my previous blog posts, I mentioned that I had the help of an educational assistant until I reached tenth grade. Looking back on my high school experience, I would argue that not having an educational assistant was one of the best things that has ever happened to me because, it motivated me to come more independent than ever before. It also taught me that sometimes in order for me to complete tasks on my own, I have to adapt to my surroundings. When the world doesn't adapt to you, you adapt to it! I learned the importance of this very quickly. Instead of going back to my locker in between classes to grab my textbooks, I decided that it would be better to carry all of my books in my backpack. Sounds reasonable, right? It turned out not to be such a good idea after all. Having so many books and supplies in my bag at one time actually made my wheelchair top heavy, so every time I got out of my chair, it would tip backwards. It even happened in the bathroom a few times. This left me no choice but to figure out a way to get my wheelchair upright again without telling anyone. Eventually, I came up with the idea to leave my textbooks and binders in the classroom. I laugh about this now, but it was extremely frustrating at the time. In the end though, it was a great learning experience.

Obviously, the way I play sports is a little different than most people play,but I have a found a way to involve myself in almost every sport my friends have ever played. I distinctly remember one time in gym class when my classmates were playing badminton. My hand eye coordination sucks, which means that it would take me forever to hit the birdie and when I finally did it would fly a whopping three feet. Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but it did not fly very far. Eventually, we came up with the idea to use a balloon as a birdie, which proved to be successful. When I played basketball, I used an empty garbage can, while my friends aimed for the basketball hoop. Growing up, I didn't care what adaptations I had to make, I was not going to miss out on an opportunity just because I happen to have a physical disability.

Even now, I am always seeking adventures and jumping at the opportunity to try new things. In fact, I hope to start playing wheelchair basketball with a good friend of mine come September, because life is too short to sit on the sidelines!