Another beautiful envelope slid out of my mailbox with cursive calligraphy. I knew what it was. Another wedding invitation. Another baby shower. Another engagement shower.

When I was a kid, I used to go to the beach constantly. I did this nearly every summer, as most families do. The beach is their happy place. This happy place for most people became a place of envy for me.

This past weekend, I attended Sara’s baby shower. Sara is a lifelong friend of mine and coincidentally enough, also a former PCA in college. She is also having a precious baby girl.

It’s crazy what an ableist society does to you. You actually start to believe the lies and stories society tells you.

A young boy with brown hair and the biggest smile you’ve ever seen came zooming into the camp gym. He was popping wheelies in his wheelchair and had a Harley Davidson temporary tattoo on his forehead.

I rolled over huge roots and bumps on the path. It felt amazing because I could never do that in my wheelchair. I’ve seen woods, but I’ve never been in the woods.

“What you said to me a year ago has changed my life, and you probably don’t even know it,” my friend Natasha told me. “What do you mean?” I asked her.

“What’s that sound coming out of your patient’s room?” asked the nurses to my nurse. “That’s laughter,” she said. They don’t hear that sound often.

Not much has changed except from being a student at UGA to now on staff at UGA. One year on the job, and I’m having an absolute blast.

Having a disability makes you face challenges and obstacles that push you to your limits. Every day.

I experienced my first skiing adventure in Beech Mountain, North Carolina. However, things went downhill. Fast…