Imagine walking down the street like it was a normal day. You’re minding your own business and maybe you just got a coffee. It’s something you do every single day. Then you see something out of the ordinary and it causes you to stare. For a long time.

That is how people look at my sister.

My sister was born with a physical disability that means that she has to use a walker and wears leg braces. She’s 10 years old and lives life like any other 10-year-old. She hangs out with her friends, plays Minecraft, and still laughs at the word poop. She sees that she is different from the other kids and wishes desperately that she was like them.

When she goes out in public people cannot help but stare at her shiny blue walker and watch. She notices the people looking and she is very self conscious about her walker. She knows that is why everyone is looking at her. We always tell her to stare back to make them uncomfortable or ask them if they need something. This can usually make her laugh or take her mind off of it. But, it doesn’t change the fact that her feelings are hurt.

Growing up with a disability can be hard on a child. They see that they are different than the other kids and the others kids see the difference too. Thankfully, my sister has grown up in a close community that all support her and like her for who she is and don’t focus on her disability. Unfortunately, there are other kids that struggle to make friends or to talk to other kids because they do not feel normal. This is something that needs to be changed in the schools and in their communities.

People should realize that others are born differently than them. This doesn't make them weird or think that there is something wrong with them. They were just born differently and that's okay. We should accept everyone for who they are and not treat them any other way than any other person. We shouldn’t stare at child with a walker or their braces, point and look at a kid in a wheelchair, or bring any attention to a part of a child in a negative way.

Something to understand is that we don’t know what it is like to have to use a walker or have to have braces. We don’t know what it is like to have to go through therapy after therapy to try to strengthen the muscles just a little bit to maybe not have to use the walker one day. We don’t know what it is like to want to not have to have those things because we have gone through life without them. So, who are we to judge and stare at a child who does?

Put yourself in the shoes, braces, walker, or wheelchair of a child with a disability. Try and understand what they go through every day. The last thing that you would wants is to be stared at because you are different. You would want to fit in with all the other kids. You would want to be able to run with all the other kids, keep up with them, and hang out with them. You wouldn’t want them to stare at you because you need that walker to help you keep up and run with them. You would want them to say, “Tag you’re it!” like it was no big deal.

We just need to learn to educate people of all ages that some are born with physical and mental disabilities and some are not. People should be informed that everyone goes through life with their own battles and there is no need to add on to them. If we all work together to boost each other up, those battles will not seem so bad.

For my sister, one of her favorite things is when people compliments her walker or braces. Sometimes someone will tell her that they love the color of the walker or that they love that her leg braces are two different animal patterns. Her favorite used to be when people would comment on her sparkle light up shoes. This is something that builds my sister up and it's the stares that bring her down.

So, if you ever see a child that is in a walker or has leg braces, please do not stare. Let them be or give them a compliment to make their day. It’s about building each other up and not bringing each other down.