Discovering Confidence

In honor of National Cerebral Palsy Month, I would like to take a moment to talk about confidence.

For someone like me, it can be difficult to worry about whether people will accept you for you. You are left wondering if you are good enough.

Some days, my younger self wondered why I was so different from the people around me. I wondered why I couldn’t do some of the things that my peers can do. I would compare myself to others around me. However, I learned that it is okay to be me. Having Cerebral Palsy is the thing that sets my story apart. It is the light that turns my testimony into an inspiration.

As I grew older, I began to embrace and fall in love with the fullness of who I am. As I began to discover who I was, I started to understand and accept the weight of all my challenges. I have been able to discover my confidence through the hope that I have for myself.

You have to have the courage to stand in your confidence. By standing in your confidence, you affirm to yourself that you are capable of doing and becoming anything you set your mind to.   

Confidence isn’t something you can birth overnight. It is built from every obstacle that tried to make you lose hope. I had to learn how to carry hope in the middle of my struggles.

If I hadn’t kept hope alive during challenging times, I probably wouldn’t have found this confidence that is found within the chambers of my heart.

Now that I have found my confidence, I can stand tall in the person I was created to be.

As we celebrate National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day, I hope that my words have made you more informed about what having Cerebral Palsy means. I encourage you to connect with someone who has a disability and look beyond their disability. You might find a new friend. Shout out to all my friends, family, and all those who support my journey.