Issues? Never Let It Take You Down!

I truly believe that everyone has some disability and shouldn’t let it get in the way of their dreams. There are disabilities that are visible and others that aren’t. Because of my dystonia, I have trouble using my arms to do certain things. I can’t carry some things, write or do certain sports. Sometimes I get embarrassed in school when I drop something or my arms twitch uncontrollably.

My friend, Max, made me feel so much better one day when he said to me that at least I wasn’t short. He said that being short isn’t something you can hide from the world, nor can you control it. It creates many difficulties in life, but you just need to deal with them and move on. He’s right. Everyone has an issue; we just don’t always “see” it.

I think disabilities affect the people who do not have the disability as much as, if not more, than the person with the disability. For example, people are so surprised when I try to shake their hands or go to write something down. They may jump or gasp with the unique way I must do these things. In addition to their embarrassment, they are usually afraid to ask me why my arms do that.

When that happens, I decide to use the opportunity to educate them about dystonia. I welcome opportunities where I can use my own disability to help other people understand that a disability is only in your own attitude and how you choose to deal with it. For me, my dystonia enables me to help all types of people to be more comfortable and knowledgeable about any type of disability.

I know that the world will continue to throw problems at me and I also know that it does the same to everyone. I believe that the best thing to do is accept challenges and try to figure out ways to work around the problems rather than avoiding them. Some problems will disappear, but many will just get worse if you don’t face them head on and overcome them. I am grateful to the people who support me and in turn, I want to help others that need support.

I do believe that you can do anything if you can set your mind to it and believe in yourself – even if it’s not the traditional way of doing it or you have to go the extra mile for it. If you really want to do something, go after it and keep your head high, because you will only succeed if you believe you can. I refuse to let dystonia or any other obstacle get in my way. I’ll never look down and I hope to lift other people’s attitudes regardless of their disability as I move on in life.