It has become clear to me that we people with disabilities are disruptive by just being. Simply navigating the world in our different and beautiful bodies, and our mobility devices, we are challenging physical barriers and societal attitudes. I get stares while doing everyday things, I get sighs when I request accommodations, I get told NO until I fight to get a YES.
The world was not made for us, but I know I belong in it. It seems every day my civil rights as a woman, person of color and person with a disability are being threatened. So, if my existence is disruptive, then I will make the disruption count and the exhaustion of educating the ignorant worth it.
I can decide to just be, or I can do more — by writing something, creating art, marching in a protest, visiting with my legislators or starting a conversation with a stranger. I can make the disruption count by sharing my story with others and listening to theirs. Pull up a chair. Sit. Tell me YOUR story.
Maybe one day I will not be seen as disruptive but as a person right where she is supposed to be.