Sitting in my power chair in front of the TV on a snowy Saturday night, cheering on my favorite team and watching my heroes put in so much effort into something they love, has taught me to love life.
The next morning I would be off to the rink to watch my two brothers play minor hockey. Every stride they would take, their skate blades on the ice — they were the fire starter to my soul.
The thing is, I live with cerebral palsy. But it's not just the physical disability that restricts me. It's also society's reaction to me.
Because I have a fairly severe physical disability, people did not expect a lot from me. Growing up, I was just the guy in the chair who was funny and nothing more.
But as I just sat back, not only were my muscles tightening up, but so was my life.
As time went on, the more effort I put into a task, the more I was met with the same overzealous happy reaction. Whatever I accomplished (even the smallest of tasks, like going uptown) was amazing in people's eyes.
This was a nice feeling for me at the time. But over time, I did not realize how damaging that was to my well-being.
I only had to put in a little bit of effort, to get nothing but positive feedback. As a result, I lost the spark for life.
What was the point of trying? All I had to do was get up in the morning and people were surprised. I mean, even the simple fact that I was not in the modified class at school surprised everyone. So why try at all?
It was at this point, where I basically gave up. The desire had drained from my mindset. Why put in the effort, when society has already crowned you?