The second post in this series comes from SD who shares her thoughts on how she finds her self confidence. SD is a 16 year old who plays the ukulele, will be the President of the student body at her high school next year, and her favorite lyric comes from Stornoway "on my way out for the very last time / on my doorstep straight into the sunshine / walking west and following the coastline looking for a sea change." 


I like to pretend my disability does not have an effect. I like to pretend that a handicap is like a hair color- an insignificant physical aspect, a small portion of who I am. And in a lot of ways, that’s true. In almost every way, my condition does not matter. It should not matter. I tell people it has no actual significance, that it should not determine anything in my life. This attitude has helped me become the social, successful student I am today. It’s shown people that I do not let the obvious get in my way. Because really, things like hair color and handicap do not matter in the big picture. What matters is who you are on the inside.
Unfortunately, I’ve found having a disability sours our sense of worth and stains our confidence. At least for me. Because in the back of my mind, there is this ugly little voice that says “You’re different.” It’s hard to forget when you’re unable to dance at school dances, run at the park with your friends, and ride easily in your boyfriend’s car. So I dance in my chair. I make my friends give me piggy back rides. I ask my boyfriend take my chair apart so it fits into his Prelude.  But even as you counteract all the obstacles OI throws in your face, it still is serving as a reminder of why you must overcome these issues in the first place.
I’ve done some thinking and have determined that it is time for OI teenagers to take control and create confidence for themselves! Here are five examples of what we can do to feel beautiful with our disability and confident in ourselves.