Hi, my name is Emma. I’m a sophomore in college, and an education major. I also have Cerebral Palsy (CP). I know, it sounds really intimidating and scary. But, it basically just means that it’s a little harder for me to move around because my muscles are a little too tight. How CP affects the muscles varies from person to person, this is just how it affects me. Now that I have let the cat out of the bag, I want to tell a little story. This story is relevant to anyone regardless of disability or not. Most importantly, it’s true.

As my friend and I were leaving dinner at school one night, she dropped her plate and cup on the floor. Food spilled everywhere and my friend and I stood there embarrassed staring at the mess. We struggled to figure out exactly what to do and how to clean it up. Eventually, someone walked by and was kind enough to stop and help us. While we were cleaning up the mess, I was reminded of my experiences with the lunchroom in elementary school.

For those of you that are not aware, when you have CP, carrying a tray full of food without a lid on it is like a balancing act. Often whatever you are carrying on the tray ends up all over the floor. Because it was so hard for me, I worked on carrying food on a tray with my Occupational Therapist. We walked up and down the cafeteria first with fake food and then with real food. Each piece of food was carefully placed in its own section to evenly balance out the tray. After practicing for weeks, my elementary school was generous enough to give me a practice tray that I could use at home. After multiple spills, I finally was able to balance the tray without any food causalities. I’ve been thinking about this a lot. I’ve realized that life with or without CP is a balancing act. Sometimes, food will spill off of your tray, your plate will fall on the floor, and there’s nothing you can do about it. No matter how hard we try to fit things in their special compartments; they may spill over. That being said, if you do indeed drop your tray (and here’s a hint: you will!) pay attention to who helps you pick it back up. When I drop my tray, I have learned that sometimes it is best to just turn up some music, and dance. Everyone has a favorite song to do this to. Mine just happens to be any upbeat Taylor Swift song. Particularly her recent album. Whenever I get upset over something like school, a boy, CP, or anything really, I crank up some Taylor Swift and dance like nobody is watching me. I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to write because, in my own way, this is me dancing like no one is watching.

Recently, I have experienced some disappointment involving school and not surprisingly a boy. So, I did what I normally do. I cranked up some Swift, grabbed the ice cream, and danced it out. During the duration of the song, I forgot all about my troubles with school and the boy who, even though he fit in all the right compartments, I could never really tell what he meant, and when I did it was too late. My tray was already all over the floor. Now that I have beat this metaphor half to death, it’s time I crank up the music, open up the ice cream, and dance around my living room. Because, as the queen would say: “haters gonna hate, but I’m just gonna shake it off. “