Shake up your life: how to change your own perspective

The definition of a disability in its basic form is "a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements, senses, and activities." Pretty straightforward, right? Well, I beg to differ. I was diagnosed with hearing loss at a year and a half old. Dealing with a disability like this at a young age can be pretty confusing because as you grow up, you begin to question the ways of the world. You begin to ask why certain things work the way they do. You begin to challenge yourself at school to learn and grow. You begin to even question your parents and sometimes rebel against the beliefs they have passed down to you. Dealing with a hearing impairment, I have had days where I questioned why God would make me abnormal, why I had to suffer every day at school and in life. Why me? Such a simple question to ask yourself, yet brings on so much pain and self-hate. I asked God and myself this question daily up until high school. With every conversation I felt that I missed out on, every lecture where I couldn't understand the teacher, every softball practice that I got frustrated at because I didn't know what kind of play we were running at the time, I felt trapped within my disability like I was inside a prison cage. This perspective really caused me to have a pessimistic personality. I dreaded meeting new people for fear that I couldn't understand them or that they would feel that I was ignoring them when I really couldn't hear them. I was self-conscious about my image, always wearing my hair down to cover my hearing aids. At this point, I was really just going through the motions of life, being afraid to take a risk. It wasn't until my freshman year of high school that I started to realize that I needed to make a change if I wanted to become okay with who I was. With the help of some Jesus and a personal desire to find happiness and meaning to life, I began to realize that life was SO much more than what I was allowing myself to experience. I realized that I blamed all my shortcomings on my disability when, in reality, I am the one in control of who I want to be. I realized that I really had a good life, that it could be so much worse than a simple hearing impairment. I could be in a wheelchair and paralyzed, not being able to play the sport I love. I could be blind, not being able to see the beauties that life has to offer like the beach or the gorgeous sunsets. I could even be completely deaf, not having any hearing at all. I began to focus on the accomplishments I had made in my life rather than the struggles with my hearing impairment. I thrived on the softball field and in school, going to the next level to play college softball while making good grades. These are the things I should've focused on earlier in my life. With this change in perspective, I began to break out of my shy shell and truly started living my life to the fullest and just being happy and thankful that I get to LIVE. Whatever you are going through, always know that there is a silver lining, even if it's the dimmest light you've ever seen. Once you start focusing on the positive things going on in your life, your life starts to have new meaning. You start to appreciate the little things more. You start to have more control over who you are and who you strive to be and how you react to certain situations. A disability or even a tragic life event does NOT define who you are or who you can be. These are just merely obstacles standing in your way, and obstacles are meant to be overcome. YOU ultimately define who you really are, so be proud and unapologetic of who you are and what you have achieved despite every curveball that life has thrown at you.

#perspective #outlook #newlife