Finding Your Fire
Last night, I had dinner with my dad's cousin. It was wonderful. I spent the majority of the time telling her all about my time in DC, and everything I've learned here. I talked about the history of the disability rights movement, the ADA, and why it is so important that we ratify the CRPD. I kept saying how much all of this stuff matters, and I realized that things that used to be hard for me to talk about are now impossible for me not to talk about. When we finished dinner, my dad's cousin remarked to me how wonderful it was that I have found something I care about so much. We talked for a minute about how some people go through their whole lives without ever finding that thing they are meant to do, and that I'm 22 and I know what I'm meant to do. I've been thinking about this a lot. I don't know what I want to be. I don't know whether I should go to law school, or grad school, or do something else entirely. I don't know any of these things, but for the first time in my life that's okay, because I know what I care about, I know what matters to me, I know what I want to do with my life.
I have passion. I have that thing that makes you get up in the morning on even the darkest and rainiest of days. I have that thing that makes my eyes light up when I talk about it. I have that thing I care about all the way down to the deepest level of my heart. I know how I'm meant to spend my life. I may not know the exact career path I want to take, but I know what I want to do. In some way or another, I know I will spend my life fighting to make sure that disabled people all over the world have the same rights as their non-disabled counterparts. I know that I will spend my life exposing ableism and inequality wherever it shows itself. I will spend my life trying to ensure that everyone has the same opportunities afforded to people like my little brother, regardless of their background. At the end of the day, it's not about fair results, not at all. It's about making sure that everyone starts out with the same opportunities. It's about making sure that everybody starts out at the same place. It's about recognizing that our world is structured in a way where some people are already on the goal line, while others are back on the other side of the field. It's about recognizing these differences, and trying to even them out. It's not about making everybody the same, but rather about giving everybody their best shot
. This lights a fire in my heart because I know it matters. This lights a fire in my heart, because I know, despite what other people will tell me, that if it were not for my country of birth, my educational status, and my socioeconomic background. I would not be who I am today. It lights a fire in my heart because I know that there are many places where being a disabled woman is the worst possible fate. This shouldn't be, ever. When I read about people who are abused or murdered simply because of who they are, it breaks my heart, but also fuels my fire. I'm sick of waiting for things to change. I'm ready to change them. That's the thing about fire, if you find your spark you can set the whole world ablaze. Passion is a powerful thing, I'm glad I found mine, I hope you can find yours.