Claire in a Chair: 7

Fall Out Boy, an American rock band, was recently awarded by MTV for “sticking to their roots,” a recognition that is linked with sameness, the antonym of change. But shouldn’t people be rewarded for changing, evolving, transforming, rather than simply staying the same?

I’ve changed. I used to wear pink, but now I mainly wear black or white. I spend every Saturday at random high schools doing an activity I used to hate (I honestly used to cry at the thought of going to a forensics tournament). Freshman year I was convinced I was going to attend Baylor University, and now it’s not even on my list.

Now I know these are superficial, but I think I change everyday. When people first see me, they don’t really see me. They see the hunk of plastic and metal that is my wheelchair. And I get it, but that doesn’t mean its not frustrating. I know people likely deem me “that girl in the wheelchair,” and that’s okay as long as people, or at least a select few, learn to identify me as Claire.

Several weeks ago my friend and I were going to dinner. She was driving my wheelchair van, and I was sitting behind the driver’s seat, obviously in my wheelchair. She drove straight past the accessible parking spots and aimed to park somewhere else. My friend had not forgotten that I was with her, but rather that I was in wheelchair. It was kind of awesome.

My perception of myself is ever-changing, and I know that I am constantly changing in other people’s eyes. Because of this I am pro-change. I think the ability to change is one that should be rewarded, so Taylor Swift, come and pick up your prize because you and your ability to switch from country to pop deems you the great transformer in the music industry.