Chandler Cloutier
Living Life the Hard Way
The ability to overcome a disorder or disability in life, whether mental or physical, and achieve so much in life is not easy. There are so many famous people who have overcome disabilities in their life and went on to be successful, Helen Keller for example, the first blind-deaf person to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree, or Stephen Hawking, unable to move or speak on his own due to ALS, went on to receive awards like: the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Copley Medal, Albert Einstein award, and many, many more. Stephen hawking is often referred to as one of the most intelligent human beings alive (About Stephen). In the essay titled “The Extraordinary Characteristics of Dyslexia,” author Jack Horner talks of how he was able to overcome his mental disorder, dyslexia, and go on to receive many honorary awards in his life. I can relate to Horner on account that we both have a disability we were able to overcome, we have both achieved a lot in life, and we both see the advantages in our disabilities, instead of the disadvantages.
I can relate to Horner, as I too was born with a disability. At a young age, I was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy, a condition that slows and limits the generation of muscle mass over time. Like Horner’s condition, this disability has affected me in various ways, although in some ways, better than worse. Like the author, I was able to overcome this disability and succeed where others failed. The largest setback to having a physical disability is not being able to partake in physically demanding events, like sports and certain games. However, I decided to focus more on the mental aspect of life, as I figured that through knowledge, I could achieve anything I set my mind to, seeing as the human mind is the most powerful tool on earth. Most teens in today’s society focus so much on body image, although I wanted to focus more on mental image. For me, there was no use in working out or altering my physical appearance, I knew that there would be no significant progress over my entire lifetime. I decided to focus more on exercising my mind, something I knew could progress and make me stronger.
Achievements are typically defined as something that is accomplished through skill, courage, or great effort, so when I say that I have many achievements, I don’t necessarily mean I have received a bunch of rewards or trophies. It takes a lot of skill, courage, and effort to overcome a disability, as Horner says in his essay, “Even though we often fail or do miserably on these linear-thinker tests, we often end up in life achieving exceptional accomplishments (Horner; 494).” I believe Horner is saying that even though some people lack the ability to excel at “standardized” learning, those people typically excel in other aspects of life, just as John Hockenberry, four time emmy award winner, was able to overcome his disability and go on to become a successful journalist and author. John Hockenberry was paralyzed while hitchhiking after a car struck him and damaged his spinal cord. He is unable to move any part of his body below his chest, although that did not stop Hockenberry from going on to become a world-famous author, writing award winning novels such as A River out of Eden and Moving Violations: War Zones, Wheelchairs, and Declarations of Independence. John Hockenberry, a man who can only move the upper part of his body, was able to overcome his disability and make the best of what he had, achieving so much in life, and much more to come (John Hockenberry).