What does my reflection look like for me? I’ve always thought about and always wanted to share my opinion on it, but I never have the guts to until now.
I’ve always had mixed reviews on my reflection. Not so much as a child but more so as a teenager. Being a teenager with cerebral palsy and going through puberty wasn’t the easiest for me because I so desperately wanted to be like the beautiful blonde girls that I would see on TeenNick or MTV.
I would often wonder why couldn’t I have had their perceptions when it comes to self-love and beauty. I would pinpoint everything I thought was wrong with myself, from my legs to my eyes to my body, only to realize there was never anything wrong with myself.
What made me hate my reflection more as a teenager was an experience I went through with a friend where I had developed feelings for him. He didn’t wind up having the same type of feeling toward me but eventually, the whole sixth grade found out that I was having feelings for him and started a rumor that he and I were a couple. This got back to his girlfriend at the time and he became distraught with me. During one of our PE classes, he walked up to me and said “I would never go out with somebody in the wheelchair and besides you’re a fat, ugly, hairy gorilla” and from that day on I hated my reflection throughout my whole teenage years.
I would point out everything wrong with my body every time I looked in the mirror. I wasn’t proud of who I was or how I looked, and I didn’t think I would ever accept my reflection for what is.
Now as an adult, I love my reflection because it shows who I am as a person and what it means to me is that I am a warrior of my own battles that make me unique in my own way. You should never be afraid of who you are. You should never let anybody tell you that your reflection isn’t beautiful because of all
reflections are beautiful in their own unique way.
As an adult, I am proud of the chair that is built behind me and the wheels that reflect me. I am proud of where I come from and what I’ve been able to accomplish because of my reflection.
I am a fighter.
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