“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living.
The world owes you nothing. It was here first.”
~Mark Twain
From the minute I was born, I was not allowed to look at myself as a victim. This quote by Mark Twain is how my siblings and I were raised. It was and still is the one and only lens I was given to be able to view my life with a disability through.
I try to live a “society owes me nothing kind of life.” This attitude can and will look different depending on an individual’s desire to give instead of receiving. This doesn’t mean I don’t ask for help, or that I’m not expecting a positive outcome when I receive the help I desire. It does mean I’m required to put in an all-out effort to whatever I decide I want or need to do with my life and not use my Cerebral Palsy as an excuse to have everything handed to me.
In my view, the attitude of some in society is, “give this to me because I’m . . .” you fill in the blank. Like Mark Twain, I believe that no matter your race, background, color, ethnicity, religion, or disability; we have all been given a chance to succeed or try again if we live like no one owes us anything.
