STILL ME.

STILL ME
Back on October 13, 1992 I was fighting for my life after becoming paralyzed from a car accident, I never would have thought that thirteen years later I would be a successful teacher who believes in herself and makes a difference in the lives that she meets everyday!

My situation has led me to discover things about myself that I would not have before. I am proud not only of what my disability has taught me, but also of where it has taken me and whom I have met along the way. So much in my life is because of this injury. No, life isn't perfect, but it wasn't perfect before I was in the wheelchair either! Over time I have come to realize... It wasn't me who changed... It was my perspective! Being in the wheelchair has reminded me to appreciate the little things in life such as being able to get out of bed each morning and enjoy the fresh air. I have begun to realize, it is not what I do in life that matters. It is who I am inside that truly defines the real me.

Having said all of this, I didn't get here overnight. It took me a bunch of years to come to grips with the gravity of it all. It took a great support system of family and friends, a belief in myself, an ungodly number of margaritas and a deeply engrained sense of humor. All that I have going for me defuses the all-consuming desire to lash out, to find and affix blame. You don't need to walk to fall in love, to get married, have kids, get a degree, go to work or be a successful leader. Whatever you want to do, you don't need to walk to write, paint, take in a ballgame, go hunting, scuba diving, whatever.

Napoleon said, "struggle is a decided advantage, for it awakens within you attributes which would otherwise forever lie dormant."

Walking is over-rated