A Year of Challenges

This year, being my first year at UIS and away from home, has been a HUGE learning experience for me. I have had to learn just how to use my disability as a means of educating others around me about differences. It's been hard, especially since this campus is growing in student population. However, the vast amount of students hasn't allowed me to stop trying to use my activism skills to spread som disability awareness across the UIS community.
Being able to successfully and efficiently get around this cmpus wasn't easy at first. It took me longer to get from place to place, since my legs would get tired. For a long time, I knew that I needed a wheelchair to help me get across long distances. I had to fight for that, since my parents' health insurance was being ignorant in helping us actually get one. We had to fight for it, and explain why I needed one. All our persistance eventually payed off, and I can now SPEED all over campus.
I've also had to advocate a lot more for the things that I need. In doing this, I have had to apply and apply again to try to get the helpful services that would allow me to be able to have the complete campus experience. When I first came to UIS, I felt like the challenges my disability presents me with weren't totally allowing me to enjoy the whole college life experience, as a result of the difficulties that trying to do everything independently handed me. However, that all changed once I began receiving the helpful services- like getting a Personal Assistant to come every day to help me buy lunch or dinner, do household chores, and laundry.