Still {Me}

Perfectly Imperfect

Back on October 13, 1992 I was fighting for my life after becoming paralyzed from a car accident, I never would have thought that many 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 used a wheelchair either! Over time I have come to realize... It wasn't me who changed... It was my perspective! Being a gal that uses a 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