The perception of disability develops on two fronts: how disabled people view themselves, and how others view the disabled. Specifically when talking about a missing appendage, the disability itself is highly visible to the outside world. When an amputee looks in the mirror, what do you think they see? What thoughts run through their mind? Having a component missing that is so important to the human experience, such as an entire limb, is enough to...

Close your eyes for a second and imagine the following: You’re walking through the halls on your way to lunch, and you don’t intend to, but you start thinking about everything that is going wrong in your life. Grandpa is in the hospital, recently diagnosed with cancer, a “friend” of yours doesn’t seem to know when to stop picking on you, and your dad was recently laid off from his job. You feel the tears coming, and you can’t do anything to ...

A young boy lays on his bed, carefully listening to his parents argue throughout the night. He wrestles with a crippling question about his family. Will they stay together? ”Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”- Martin Luther King Jr. Apparently my father was not the light to my mother’s darkness nor was my mother the light to my father’s. My parents’ relationsh...

I wasn't sure what shocked me more, the pain shooting down my leg or the terror in my mom’s eyes. As our car tore through the city streets, my brain couldn't process what was happening. I don't remember much, but I do recall racing through multiple red lights. While my mom was on the phone with 911, I gasped for air while trying to maintain calm. Another jolt of pain came as my mom slammed an Epipen into my left thigh while I choked for oxygen en ro...

Samantha L. is like any other middle schooler. Except for one thing. Since birth, Samantha has had cerebral palsy. The technical term for Samantha’s condition is triplegic cerebral palsy. This means that it’s difficult for both of her legs and her left arm to move. When Samantha was born, her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck. As a result, she couldn’t breathe for a full 7 minutes. Some of the brain cells that controlled the nerv...

I remember early on, asking big questions about my life.  Why don't I live with a mom and a dad? Was it my fault that they split up?  Did he leave us because of me? I didn’t necessarily feel anger or resentment, just confusion.  I wanted him to come back, yet I had accepted the realization that this probably wouldn’t happen. I’d given up that hope a long time ago. As financial struggles became our reality, my mom knew we couldn’t live ...

Shots were fired from heavy machine guns at point-blank range. Bullets flew through the air, dangerously close to the heads of British soldiers. With 100 troops on a single boat, one man steered them to safety. He never thought they would get out alive. World War One was one of the most devastating and catastrophic events in history. 37 million people lost their lives. 100 more deaths would have been added to the count if it weren’t for Per...