Unspoken words

When was the last time you felt really uncomfortable in your own skin? For me, it was just this week when I decided to quickly stop for dinner on the way home from work. I stopped at "Chick-Fil-A" and honestly wanted to get in and out as fast as possible because I was hungry, tired and had a Lyft driver waiting for me.

Instead, when I walked in I was greeted by two kids hard core staring at me and especially my braces. I could feel their eyes on me as I walked into the restaurant, waited in line and proceeded to order my food. It didn't help that my speech was giving me a difficult time while I was ordering. When I was paying, a quarter fell out of my wallet. I didn't see it fall but one of the little girls picked it up and handed it to me. I said to her, "thank you so much, you really helped me." I wanted her to know that she helped me and that everybody needs help sometimes. 

I know these kids were not trying to make me feel uncomfortable by looking at me because kids are just curious in general. They may have never seen someone with a physical disability before. They may have also never seen someone with a physical disability who was not with someone else. In that moment, I realized that part of my job is to teach others that people with disabilities can be independent and out and about in the community living"normal" lives. 

"Sometimes the most powerful messages are the ones that are sent without speaking a word." 

Written by Sydney Breslow 

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