Cerebral Palsy, my side!

Different: able to be distinguished, unlike, of other nature.

Disability: thing or lack that prevents one’s doing something.

Disable: make unable

Retard: make slow or late, delay progress or development.

Spastic: (person) suffering from cerebral palsy, with tonic spasm of muscles.

(Commonly known as Spas)

Now you ask, why have I written those words and their meanings? My reply is… I’m letting you into why I am who I am today.  I was born with mild cerebral palsy (although it doesn’t feel like it sometimes.) however although my friends and family treat me no different doesn’t mean that other people do. I’ve been called a retard and a spastic. Fair enough. If you know their actual meaning.  Fair enough I am a retard, but I bet I can come back with a quicker name for you next time you call me it. Just because a person may be slow in actions doesn’t mean their brains slow. Cerebral palsy is a condition to do with the muscles just because a person may be slow in actions doesn’t mean their brains slow. Cerebral palsy just means that your muscles are weaker than everybody else’s. I’m sick of getting stereotyped. You can’t do this, and you can’t do that! That really knocks your confidence! It doesn’t annoy me anymore though, it annoys my family and friends more, and I just laugh it off.

                However all the negativity in my life disappeared when I left school! I left school with a dream of going to college to be a journalist. My first weeks of college taught me not to be afraid of trying new things and now my dream is to go into study radio. That’s something I would never have thought about back in high school because I’d have someone laughing or telling me “you can’t do that” when this is my life and I can only  make of it what I want of it. No one can stop me and no one can get me where I want to go it’s up to me. I know there’ll be obstacles to make me stop and think (there always is in life, in every situation) but I’ll get through it. What this all coming to? Confidence, being able to stand up to people and telling them you can do it. The point of this is everyone tell’s you when you’re younger “You can be what you want to be.” And I’m telling you now… it’s true! Whether you have a disability or not. Disability means that you may not be able to do something, if you can’t do it try something different. For example what put me of journalism was the short hand- I can’t write fast never mind write shorthand. So I decided radio then I thought of my voice then was informed by a lot of people no one like’s their own voice and as long as I speak clearly… I’m fine. 

The main thing is, you can be whoever you want to be, different is good. I love being different but that’s my personality too. I now laugh if someone tells’s me I can’t do something because of my disability and everyone else can because it makes me more determined to prove them wrong. So you want proved wrong about something, tell me I can’t do something! This is who I am today because I can only be the best I can be and if that means laughing at the bullies that’s what I’ll do. I’m not going to deny it hurts, all I’m saying is that it has made a stronger person inside and that’s why I always see the brighter side.