I will be one of the first to admit that I do not possess many life skills. But I have recently gotten better. I’m not sure exactly why it’s hard to use my hands sometimes. I guess it’s a CP thing, but I have learned to work with the way my hands are. Here is a list of things I have learned to do in 2021-2022.
1) I I learned to carry my dog.
2) I learned to unclip my dog’s harness.
3) I learned to wash my hair by myself.
4) I (mostly) learned to tie my shoes.
5) I learned to eat properly with a fork.
Anything is possible. Ever since I was very little, I was always frustrated about the lack of things I felt I could do. When I was three or four, it was writing. I couldn’t really hold a pencil. I know that most of the tasks on my Life Skills list are simple daily routines, but to me, they are a big deal. I am grateful to my parents for pushing me and helping me to become the more independent person I want to be. I still have a lot to work on—like putting my hair in a ponytail—but I’ll do it.
I might do some things more slowly than others. I might not have found my own way to do those things yet. But that does not mean I’m giving up.
I am going to follow my dreams no matter what. That might sound cliché, but I don’t care. I will become a physical therapist. I will help people.
It will take time. It will take effort, patience, courage, preserverance. In that case, I’ve been practicing my whole life.
As my math teacher put it once, some things might take more “elbow grease” for me than for others. That’s okay. It might mean finding another way to accomplish my dreams. That’s okay.
I will go to college. I will have a career. And I’ll do it while being myself.
These life skills are the first step—and I’m happy with that. I’ve had to take baby steps. It took me time to walk, but after that, I kept going.
This list is a baby step. That’s okay. I’ll get to the big ones when I get there.
“It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop”. — Confucius