Aspects of living with a disability part 27 - Life with disabilities still worth living

Yes, life is worth living when you have a disability for multiple reasons 

Firstly, we are all unique in different ways. But people with disabilities usually don't get as many opportunities to excel as an able-bodied person would. For example, some of us haven't even experienced proper relationships, which, at the age of 32, you could say is a little bit behind the eight ball. But for me, this will change somewhere in the future. I am not sure exactly where or when but, I have just hooked up with another sexologist by the name of Casey, and, she is teaching me about relationships. And that I am very open to discussing any subject. The subjects we discuss can be very personal. 

However, not all experiences that disabled people have are like this. We often have to wait for our opportunities to come to us rather than seeking them out. My advice to you is to try something different. And if you don't like it, you don't have to go back! Unless someone close to you persuades you to do something that you do not exactly want to do. For example, this happened a few years back for me. And I am probably speaking about 12 years ago if I am being completely honest. This one particular time I speak of, I was actually doing two academic courses at the same time. I was doing an Intro to Veterinary Nursing, and I was then thrown back into a degree in Medical Reception, which I was not very pleased with at the time. Now, that is something to put on my resume and something that I may one day use. At the time, I was not impressed and did not want to return to TAFE to complete the Medical Reception degree. But there are some things in life that disabled people do regardless of whether they want to do it. And to be honest with you, I would make a good medical receptionist if I could type fast enough, but I cannot be that fast. So, this means that my chances of getting hired as a medical receptionist would be smaller than those of an able-bodied person. But nevertheless, there are some advantages to being disabled. One of the major ones is the fact that you get to skip lines, but please bear in mind that this does not happen every day. 

Another point is that if we get paid outside our pension, we have to prove to Centrelink that we still need our pension. And this is highly irritating because sometimes we don't get paid as often as people with able bodies. So, in light of this, I am one of the lucky people to have been paid for my work. Not every disabled person has this opportunity because they more often have volunteer jobs, which, as I am sure you would understand, are unpaid. With me being a disabled person, you could say that I have been lucky enough to see both sides of the coin. But, just because I do not get paid as often as I wish I could, does not mean that life is not worth living! It depends on the individual's perspective. And, what do they consider is worth living for? But not everything in life comes easily. And I no longer take my opportunities for granted. There have been a few things in life that I've passed up on, and do I regret that? Well....I do, and I don't. The things that I have passed up on are experiences or opportunities to meet famous people, which, most of you would think, I live under a rock because I passed the opportunity to meet Chris Hemsworth, which was potentially going to be organised with Brian Ellison back when he was alive.  I have also passed up the opportunity to be a radio presenter, and that is one thing I would take on if I had another chance. But you never know what opportunities are waiting around the corner. So we will soon see what is waiting around mine. 

Until next time!

Stephanie :)