We Are Our Words: Maqymseahe Ninces’ Letter To Herself

This content was posted on Facebook by The Minspeaker on 3/12/2019 and is an example of writing entries for the Cerebral Palsy Society’s We Are Our Words Writing Competition.

Dear the Lady in the Pink Dress,

This is ten years late but congratulations!!! Like many Attitude Award winners, past, current and future, you aren’t quite sure what you did to be worthy of the trophy in your lap.

There is a lot that I would love you to know about your future – way too much for this one letter. However, the best advice that I can give you is to take chances.

Not all chances will work out and not everything happens on your timeline! There are some barriers, detours and roadblocks that will make you doubt your abilities and the road you are travelling, even long after their initial occurrence and long after you have found your way around them. Similarly, there are many times that you won’t see eye to eye with other people. You simply can’t please everybody 100% of the time, no matter how hard you try to make everyone happy.

On the other hand, some of the chances that you do take will mean you meet the most generous, kind and incredible people. These new friendships, along with the continuation of old relationships, will lead to the most unexpected but fabulous adventures.

In the next decade, you will encounter grief, disappointment, uncertainty, anger, pain and fear. There will also be friendship, adventure, laughter and joy. In many instances, you will feel all these emotions at once, learning the true definition of bittersweet. You have to learn to persevere through self-doubt and the doubt of others, even when the majority of people believe in you.

Some of your original plans won’t work – remember it doesn’t matter that you had to use plan B or plan C. Sometimes, you and your caregivers will be the only females at the table, and very often, you will be the only AAC user in the room. It doesn’t matter!

What is important is that you have taken the chance to show up, try different things and embrace who you are, disability and all. Let yourself learn from these moments. Let yourself be the person other people see in you. Let yourself enjoy every single minute, just like you are tonight.

Congratulations, once again, and Happy International Day for People with Disabilities!!!

Love from,
Your Future Self.

#InternationalDayForPeopleWithDisabilities2019