Rebecca's Adventure: Embracing my Disability

I live with Cerebral Palsy. I am very fortunate to have a mild case of CP that is mainly invisible, but it still affects me on a daily basis. For the longest time, I was embarrassed about my disability and never talked about it. I was worried that if people knew about it they would look down on me and treat me differently. 

In my sophomore year of high school, my speech and debate coach suggested that I write a speech about invisible disabilities and disclose my own. My initial reaction to this was fear. I had no idea that my speech coach even knew about my CP and was terrified about the idea of more people knowing about this. Reluctantly, I took the leap to write my speech about invisible disabilities, and it was one of the best decisions that I ever made. Shortly after I began presenting my speech, I realized that there was nothing to be afraid of. I received an overflow of support and compliments. 

Inspired by my experience and research from my speech, I began volunteering with the Invisible Disabilities Association as a part of my IB service project. I was presented with the incredible opportunity of helping to pass legislation in Colorado that would allow a person to voluntarily disclose their invisible disability on state-issued identification to avoid misunderstandings and potentially tragic outcomes with law enforcement. This has been an ongoing process for the past few years, and we are making good progress on this bill after being featured on the local news. 

I am currently a freshman at Muhlenberg College on the premed track, and plan to continue embracing my disability to help make the world a better place.

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