Well, I've officially graduated with a Masters degree... a feat that the doctors who botched my birth would have said was ludicrous. Looking back on my 20 consecutive years of schooling has gave me time to ponder whether it was worth all the trouble as I now move forward with my life. It has not been an easy journey, as there have been plenty of physical and attitudinal barriers that I've had to overcome. Those barriers were all, one by one, removed, won over, silenced, or obliterated in some cases and all that remains is a wall full of degrees, honors and accolades.
I'm extremely proud of that wall, as anyone who has accomplished what I have should be.
...but should there be any special recognition given to my accomplishments; a proverbial asterisk included because I have a "significant" disability?
Most of you who know me well will be shocked to learn my answer to this question is yes, but let me explain before you pick up the phone and ask if I'm on drugs (which, as a matter of fact, I am on some pretty cool pain killers right now!). I do not feel that my academic achievements have been very spectacular. Anybody with my intellect could have done what I've done and surely done it better because I've been known to not apply myself very effectively on numerous occasions. I was not valedictorian, was not in any of the cum laudae groupings, and did not conduct any earth-shattering research (though I tried). I also do not feel that reaching this point academically having a "significant" disability in and of itself is worthy of special recognition either. My disability has not affected my mind (aside from adding a sickness to my humor, perhaps) and there have been adequate accommodations available to enable me to complete my work as diligently as I chose to complete it. A person who looks at me, sees me as a person with a disability, and thinks it is so wonderful and inspirational that I even go to school... their praise and recognition does nothing for me.
The reason I think my accomplishments are worthy of special recognition is because I have succeeded in rising above the social expectations unfairly placed upon me. From the doctors who said I would never read or write, to the therapists who thought physical therapy would get me further along in life than academics (as if I'm going to make a living running marathons...) to the university professors who thought I'd be crazy to pursue a counseling degree because of my speech impairment, I have proven them wrong time and time again. These degrees are proof that I have broken free of the shackles that many promising individuals have been imprisoned by and have had their spirits broken by an immense weight that should never be placed on anyone. I have been through the firestorm and have emerged with the prizes I set out to achieve long ago and now there's nothing this man can't do; nothing he can't change.
