In society, as a general rule, we may struggle with three questions. Who am I? Where do I belong? What are my values? For me, the hardest question growing up was where do I belong? On one hand, finding my community as a child was pretty easy because in a way it was built in. I automatically became part of the disability community the minute I was born. As a child being part of a like-community was a saving grace because I knew that no matter what I was going through there was someone going through the same thing. However, I’ve found it harder to be part of the disability community as an adult because our needs, wants, as well as our overall direction for our lives change.
As a child in school, I had classmates I completed projects with and played with at recess, so my community was there. However, once junior high and high school rolled around it was much harder. My classmates were involved in sports and other activities. I couldn’t take part in physical activities. I had to figure out how to be part of the team without actually being part of the team, so instead I ran the scoreboard for basketball and attended every football and wrestling match I could to cheer on the teams to victory. I found ways to be part of my community.
College life came in the fall of 2006 and I was quickly on my own. The community was no longer built in. I had to be willing to open myself up in ways I hadn’t done before. For example, starting conversations, finding people to connect with, and being willing to ask for help from complete strangers are all things I had to learn to do.
Today I use these strategies and applied them in a whole new way while building my business. Don’t get me wrong, It has been scary, but worth it in every possible way. I just continue to ask myself the questions I mentioned in the beginning: “Who am I? Where do I belong? and What are my values?” while also continuing to grow in the process.
