What Do I Have To Be Proud Of?

When you are disabled and say that you are proud to be disabled, sometimes non-disabled people are shocked because it is often believed that all disabled people hate their lives and aren’t happy. Non-disabled people sometimes do not understand what it means to love being disabled and think that we love every challenge. I have been disabled my entire life and am proud to call myself disabled, but even though I love being disabled and am not searching for a cure, that doesn’t mean I love everything about my disability. There are some challenges that I struggle with that frustrate me every single day that I do not embrace, and I wish would go away. As a disabled person, I will never have accomplishments in my career that a non-disabled person would have, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have anything to be proud of. Non-disabled people sometimes wonder how a disabled person could be proud of their disability because we have been taught to believe that disability is bad and that we should hate our disabled lives. What do I have to be proud of as a disabled person? In this post, I am going to talk about a few things that I am proud of as a disabled person.

I am proud of the person I have become- Disability changes a person, and you are not the same person you would be without your disability. You have different thoughts and feelings than you would if you weren’t disabled because disability changes your perspective on life. I don’t know what type of person I would be without my disability because I have been disabled my entire life, and it’s the only thing I have ever known. I am not proud of all the struggles, but I am proud of the person I have become because of my disability. I am a different person because of my disability and have more empathy toward people with health challenges, and I am proud of that. It is hard to be disabled in a world designed for non-disabled people, and I could choose to be an angry, bitter person, but I chose not to because it doesn’t change anything and only makes me unhappy.

I am proud of the advocate I have become– Non-disabled people can be good advocates for disabled people, but disabled people are better ones because we have experiences that non-disabled people don’t have. My disability has made me a better advocate because I understand disability more than a non-disabled person ever will. I could still advocate for disabled people if I weren’t disabled, but I would not be the advocate I am today without my disability. My disability has allowed me to share a different perspective on life, and I am proud of the advocate I have become. I have more empathy toward people with health challenges, and because of that, I am able to be a better advocate. I started my blog because of disability, and I could not be the advocate I am today without my disability, because I wouldn’t have the same types of opinions or perspective that my disability gives me.

I am proud of the obstacles I have overcome– I will never have accomplishments in my career that non-disabled people have because my learning disability prevents me from getting advanced degrees. I will never overcome disability and learn to cope with it, but I have been forced to find ways to overcome obstacles. We live in an inaccessible world, and it can be very difficult to navigate the world with a physical disability because the most basic tasks can be twice as hard. I am not proud of every barrier I face, and think we need to continue to find ways to make the world accessible to make it easier for disabled people, but I am proud of the things I have had to overcome because of my disability. I have had to learn different ways to do tasks because of my disability, and I am proud of the things I have accomplished. I still struggle with basic tasks and always will because I can’t change my disability, but I am proud of all the hard things that I have had to learn to do just to function as a human being.

I am proud of my improved strength- Exercise is more difficult when you have a disability because fitness is not accessible. I exercise regularly, but it is harder for me because I have had to learn how to make fitness accessible and can’t exercise to the extent non-disabled people can. Exercise has been more difficult since I lost mobility, and I have had to find a new way to exercise. When I exercise, I get frustrated almost every single time and am not proud of my limitations, but I am proud of myself for sticking with it even though it’s harder for me. I may not be able to build muscles like non-disabled people, but I am proud of myself for not giving up. It is harder to motivate myself to exercise because I have so many limitations, and there have been moments when I wanted to quit. I am proud of myself for not quitting and doing what it takes to improve my health.

When you are disabled, sometimes it can be hard to be proud of your disability because your life is filled with struggles. Non-disabled people often have a lot of big accomplishments in their careers that a disabled person doesn’t have, which can make you feel bad about yourself. Career accomplishments are rewarding and something to be proud of, but it is not the only big accomplishments in life. If you are disabled and think you have nothing to be proud of, I want you to think about all the things that you have had to overcome because of your disability. Non-disabled people will never truly understand how many privileges they have because most things are easy for them. Disabled people have had to overcome challenges that a non-disabled person never will, and you should be proud of that. What about your disability makes you proud? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.

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