By Katherine Magnoli
I have written several articles all about how people in society view those of us with disabilities, this will not be another one of those articles. Instead, I would like to talk about the disability community itself. This past weekend, while attending a friend’s graduation party it really opened my eyes to so many things.
First off, the room was filled with a variety of who’s who both able bodied and those of us with disabilities all there to celebrate Joy, a young woman with Cerebral Palsy who just received her degree in Entrepreneurship. In addition to her degree, Joy is well on her way to revolutionize the cosmetic industry. She is in the process of developing products to help women with disabilities, specifically those with low hand function or those who have just the use of one hand, apply make up more easily. Now, most people would think that was the lesson but no I am well aware that people with disabilities are capable of excellence.
The real lessons with attending her party were three fold; 1) I was able to realize after a sad incident that a set of my books got destroyed by water, that when you are celebrating someone’s achievements you must set aside your own sadness. 2) When you have the opportunity to bring two people together who have common goals it is your duty to do so. 3) Being an advocate for those who are in your situation is not enough; you must also help those with other challenges, in order to truly make an impact. I learned this last valuable lesson while talking to a woman whom I have always held in high regard because she has given me the tools I have today to be a strong advocate. We spent a good fifteen minutes talking about the importance of my books and how I try to advocate for all disabilities.
I told her about the upcoming release of my new book Pete the Private Eye, about a detective living with blindness who uses the language of Braille and his cane to solve mysteries. I went on to tell her how I dedicated this book to a former classmate of mine whom I knew both as a young child and then an adolescent. As a young child, I was very close with this young lady and as an adolescent, after many years of being bullied I turned my back on her due to my own insecurities. Now as a woman in her mid thirties I have dedicated my book to her as a public apology for hurting someone who though they live with blindness their spirit shines brighter than most.
In addition, we then discussed different topics that could be added to her already powerful advocacy fellowships. The topics we discussed were advocating for better health care in hospitals and doctor’s offices . Another was self defense, which I feel is an extremely important topic considering the recent events of a sexual assault that occurred on a special transit bus service about two months ago. The victim was an unnamed girl living with what the newspaper referred to as a developmental disability.
In conclusion, the next time you are out and about; take a moment in between the hors d’oeuvres and the main course to really look around and realize how much there is to learn from those around you. There is a plethora of valuable lessons to be learned from those with and without disabilities.
