Disability Doesn't Have Me

For a while last semester, I was using another website to educate people about my epilepsy, so I'd like to use this space to tell people about my physical disability. By creating this blog, I hope to raise total awareness about physical disabilities- not just in my community, but all across the world.
TheImage of My Existance And My disability, over time, has merely shaped who I am as an in dividual. Throughout my life, I have faced so many hurtles. Oneway I have tried to overcome all the challenges my life throws me is by telling my story at epilepsyfoundation.org/ecommunities/heroes. By doing this, I don't feel like I'm wasting my time doing nothing with my life. Why not try to use my life as an example of just how challenging it can be to live with such a complex physical disability? It's great to work towards teaching people all about what really makes me such a great person.Over the course of my life, people think that my disability is really who I am. They don't always want to take time to learn about my abilities and what I am actually good at. Boy, sometimes, I really wish that people wouldn't be so afraid to get to know me- and learn all about who I am, regardless of my physical differences.I absolutely HATE it when people won't take the time to get to know Nico, the advocate- not "the girl with a disability". Sometimes I wish that I had a majical potion to make people realize that there's a lot more to me than just my physical disability that can be seen on the outside. I feel that what's actually on the inside is way more important than what people see about me by looking at my outer appearances.
People, upon first look at me, sometimes think that- just because I have a disability-I won't be able to acheive success. Growing up was quite difficult at times, especially if people "assumed" that I needed help all the time. Growing up in a society that doesn't really know a lot about disabilities- especially my disability, CP- really makes me want to educate them about it. I have tried just talking about my disability; however, I haven't really had much success with that. I mean, people sometimes don't want to listen to what I have to tell them about my disability.That's why I have resorted to sharing my disability through my writing. By writing about my disability, I am able to share my personal story of what it's like to have a disability that constantly presents itself in many challenges to my crazy life.Sure, my life is crazy, but that's all a part of being a college student. You know, the one thing in my life that's extremely crazy is actually being able to handle many courses at once. Not very easy! Because of my physical disability, my muscles wear out quite easily, making it nearly impossible for me to really be able to carry a heavy backpack (which I'm not supposed to do, anyway) full of very heavy textbooks."You're not supposed to carry all those books," my high school teachers used to say to me.I knew that, but what was I supposed to do. Now that I'm in college, I feel like I'm the only person who actually realizes that I'm not even supposed to carry any heavy books. However, I have had to carry the textbooks to and from my classes, and my back muscles have told me that they don't want me to carry those heavy books. Sometimes, I wonder if I should ask a fellow classmate to carry my heavy backpack for me. . . however, not all of my friends have the same class schedule as I do.
Having cerebral palsy has presented my with many challenges- not just as a result of how my body works- but also because of how my body works. I can't really play sports because there really aren't any sports that can easily be adapted to meet the needs of people with physical disabilities, which I find quite discouraging. Now that I am in college, this doesn't really bother me; however, growing up unable to participate in any sports was often quite depressing. It wasn't a lot of fun just to watch friends participate in many sporting events that looked like a lot of fun to me.How would you feel if you couldn't participate in any sports just because of your disability? When it came to being as active as I really wanted, there were often times when I actually wished that my cerebral palsy would just totally go away- so I could be just like my "normal" friends.What exactly is "normal"? None of us are really normal. I mean, in some way- everyone has something that they'd like to change about themselves. For me, I sometimes wish that I could participate in more physical activities. Although I really enjoy being a sports spectator/cheerleader, it's not something that I'd really like to do all the time.
Like most 23-year-olds, I am enjoying college. However, having a physical disability really makes that pretty challenging at times. Getting around- especially in miserable weather conditions can often be pretty tricky sometimes. When it's difficult for me to get around, I often get frustrated when I'm unable to take part in the activities that I really enjoy doing the most- activities like going to Christian Student Fellowship on Friday evenings with many of my friends here at UIS.Who am I? My name is Nico Echols, and I'm a college student who hase a disability. The main disability I have is cerebral palsy, which can be a pretty tough disability at times. I use crutches to help me walk, but that's nearly impossible in bad weather conditions. Having cerebral palsy means that my balance isn't good; this makes walking even a short distance often very difficult for me.
I guess being a 23-year-old freshman isn't so bad. However, it has presented me with many challenges so far this year. I'm still getting used to all the new and "scary" experiences of being a "first-time" college student again has had its share of good and bad moments. On the upsite, I have had prior experience with getting a college education.
Sometime last semester, I had the opportunity to learn how to make my own pizza. I had a lot of fun. Up until that point, I have never actually had such a wonderful experience. With the endless challenges my unique disability presents me with regularly, doing the "normal" tasks is quite difficult for me to take on without any assistance. Luckily, I had good friends who were willing and able to provide the right amount of help that I had asked fore that awesome day.

I'd like to welcome you all to my continuing journey as a college student with cerebral palsy. But, before that journey can begin- I'd like to tell you a little about what cerebral palsy is. Cerebral palsy is a defect in the brain. It basically means that some parts of your body might not work at all- or you might even have very limited use of your arms and legs. Cerebral palsy might also cause you to have delayed or difficulties with speech. Moreover, CP can't be cured- it's something that I am going to live with for the rest of my life. However, I don't let my CP control my life because I like to think of myself as someone who is much stronger than this disability.