“With Spirits Brave…”

Walking on Water: 

Part Three

When I look back and think about high school, one of the things I will never forget is the alma mater. The first line begins with the words, “With spirits brave…” Just thinking about how we came together as a school and sang the song and put up our pointer fingers in a “V” formation makes me feel nostalgic. There were many things I loved about high school and many things I wish I could relive. One of the things I loved most was my school nurse. She was very good about knowing what I needed when I came in to her office. Whether it was a couple Tylenol or to go home for the day because I felt horrible, she never asked questions. She did a great job of attempting to understand exactly what I was going through. I learned so much from her. She taught me about how to be empathetic and compassionate and understanding of any situation. She made me realize that even though what I am going through may seem like a lot, there are still kids and other adults out there going through worse than me.

Another thing I loved during this time in my life was my dance teachers. I was a dancer at Majestic Dance Academy in Southlake, Texas for fifteen years. They were wonderful people. They were very understanding of my cerebral palsy and were willing to accommodate me if I couldn’t do something or struggled with a step.  Once I got to high school level in dance, I was doing a lot more improvisation and being more open to different ideas. If I wasn’t able to do something, they allowed me to do something else and it totally worked. This taught me a lot about my condition. I didn’t have to conform to what everyone else was doing. If I couldn’t do something, I didn’t let that hold me back. I do not let my condition define me. If I want to do something but can’t, I will try as hard as I can until I determine that I can’t do it. I don’t quit when things get tough.

My favorite thing of all was my theater troupe class my senior year. That class was where I showed my greatest potential and I loved it more than any other class I took. I was able to completely come out of my shell and truly express myself. I used theater to forget about my hydrocephalus and all of my other problems by escaping into the life of someone else. Theater taught me that it’s okay to be different and have things about you that people don’t quite understand. Everybody is different. Every person with my condition is different. Just because something affects me personally does not mean it has to determine how I live my life. I strive to live life as normally as I possibly can and not let my condition control every aspect of my world. Yes, I do have some limitations, but that does not make me abnormal, it makes me unique.

So, what does this have to do with “spirits brave”? Well, I have to be brave. Sometimes the road is a tough one and I have to remember that I do have limitations. I am not super woman. Sometimes I have to take a step back and realize that I am human. I have things I can and cannot do. And that is okay. My condition has taught me that if I do have a brave spirit, I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. My parents were told I wasn’t going to live to see my second day. I survived those odds. They were told I would never walk, talk, or write. I am sitting here at my desk in my college dorm writing this article and defying those odds. I am just like everyone else, but I am also completely and utterly unique. And I will keep on trying to be brave.

 XOXO,
Em