Recently, I’ve read a lot of articles, blogs and the like, highlighting what is often referred to as ‘CP successes’. That is to say, people who have achieved some level of success, personally or professionally, while living with cerebral palsy.
The fact that these people are seen as a success because they have achieved something, despite having a disability, annoys me greatly.
Read more: It is not everything… a sentiment worth reiteration
Yesterday I did something radical. I took a day of leave just to go shopping and spend time with a friend. I’ve never done that before. It was awesome and I totally recommend it. My brain took a nice deep breath, but my eyes were still on alert and I noticed a lot of things.
Firstly, weekdays between 11 am and 4 pm must be ‘stare at those who are mildly different’ day for the elderly. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not normally one to notice such things. I’m way too happy in my own little world, but yesterday, every white haired person seemed to look my way with a puzzled expression. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s some new equal opportunity for your eyesight scheme that I’ve yet to hear of, or maybe my flatmate had written something on my head that only the over 80s could see. Regardless, I really wanted to do a little dance for their enjoyment.
Read more: Going shopping – observances of things that remain true
How do you take what should be a happy time and make it ‘suck’ a little? Take that happiness and have it overshadowed by the need to prove a point.
Every human knows the feeling of needing to prove the naysayers wrong. Every person with a disability has this feeling on any new adventure we embark on.
A few weeks ago, I got myself a puppy named Alchemy. I already own a cat, but I grew up with dogs and, what can I say, I saw that little face and fell hard.
Love is all around … that was until one of my carers made the comment that I shouldn’t have a dog because, ‘I wouldn’t be able to look after it’.
Freya
Welcome to freefall… I'm in my late twenties. My great loves are the creative arts, particularly music and creative writing. I have cerebral palsy (CP). In my case it means that I can't walk very easily - I use a chair most of the time. More about me…
Online Shopping … the Pink Dr. Marten Adventure
I am by no means a hermit, but I freely and joyfully admit that, these days, I rarely set foot inside a store. Unfortunately – for my bank balance that is – this doesn’t mean that I don’t buy things. No, it just means that 90% of the time I buy things online. Read more: Online Shopping … the Pink Dr. Marten Adventure
No Comments »