You may have seen me around before, the one girl in the bright pink wheelchair going down the hallway to get to her next class. Or you could’ve seen me in cheerleading or on stage for our fall drama productions.
It’s obvious to everyone that I have a disability.  But I wasn’t always like this. One could say that I was just like you, the person reading this column right now. I could run, jump, skip and walk at ease.
However, one day in fifth grade, all of that changed and I now have a spinal cord injury (SCI), which has completely altered my life forever.
While there are so many people in the school and community who look at me and not my wheelchair, there are still some who make me feel like I should not be in the same vicinity as you. The question is: why do you still look at me differently even though I used to be just like you and the only difference between us now is that I get around with wheels and you use your legs?
September is Spinal Cord injury awareness month and there are many things regarding SCI’s that many do not understand or even consider.
According to Unitedspinal.org, there are approximately 285,000 people in the US with a spinal cord injury, but yet people still seem to treat us like we don’t exist or look at us like we don’t belong.
We belong here just as much as everyone else does, we can see when you stare and hear when you make those comments you mumble under your breath, “don’t run over my toes!” “Wow she is so lucky she can’t walk! Being in a wheelchair looks so fun.” “You are so lucky you don’t have to take the stairs or run,” or  “Look at her, she is in a wheelchair I feel so bad for her.” It’s like people think we are immune to those messages said daily. While we try to be strong through it all, we can only take so much and those words do hurt.
We see when you use the handicapped stalls when those are the only ones we can use. Oh, and we also know when you use the handicapped spot with no tag just because you’re taking for granted your ability to use your legs. Is the only time you put yourselves in our shoes when it benefits you?
Each year around 17,500 new SCI cases are reported in the US alone. And Mobilityworks informs that every 48 minutes someone in the US is paralyzed from a SCI. Some are the results of car accidents, some from violence, and some can be caused by something as simple as a flu virus like what happened to me. No matter the cause, the reality is that you never know someone else’s story. They could be fighting battles you can’t begin to comprehend.
When it comes to disabilities and those with them, we are just like you and like everyone else in this school, trying to fit in and feel like we belong somewhere in the crazy world. So when you see me or others that have something unique about them that stands out, see them and not their disability. I can promise you, it will be worth it.