About three months ago, I dislocated and broke my left ankle in two places while longboarding. Luckily, my fiancé was with me and he was able to call 911 as I lay on the concrete holding my extremely swollen and limp foot off the ground. When the ambulance finally arrived, I was taken to the emergency room, put to sleep, and my foot was pulled back into place. I was then sent home and was scheduled to see an orthopedic surgeon about having surgery to fix my fractured ankle bones. Long story short, after complication after complication I was finally able to have my surgery two weeks, after I had broken it. Oh, and did I mention this was all happening right in the middle of my junior spring semester of nursing school?

After the surgery, I was home from school for another two weeks. I never left the house and had only used crutches to get around, but the time had come for me to go back to school. And for that to happen, I had to use a knee scooter to get around. This meant that I had to use the extremely long and steep handicap ramps to get to my dorm building and the building where my classes were held. I also had to use the elevators once I got into the buildings because, I obviously couldn't use the stairs.

Life was hard, and honestly, this was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I cried almost every day for the first two weeks back at school and I became so depressed. I felt embarrassed because of the scooter I had to ride around on, I was angry at God for letting this happen to me, and I was stressed out because every single thing I did was a huge ordeal. I kept reminding myself that it was only for four weeks and then it would be summer break and that would be the time where I could start walking again.

Experiencing life as handicapped, even if it was only temporary, completely changed my perspective on the handicapped. Handicapped ramps are dangerous and steep and most are not kept up with so the concrete has cracks and holes with which to catch the wheel of your scooter and make you fall over and land on your broken ankle (that was only day one of being back on campus). Additionally, the ramps are so steep that you have to physically stop yourself from speeding down them at 100 mph and inevitably crashing at the end. Elevators were a fun business as well. People who were not handicapped and going up or down one flight of stairs would try to get on before me and would even throw me a dirty look when I rolled in before them. I'm sorry, but just because you're a little overweight and out of shape (and not to mention a professor!) does not constitute you going ahead of me onto the elevator. Plus, taking the stairs would do you some good. I would get crowded into the corner of the elevator by those who were only going up one floor and I was always left to get off last. Life lesson for all of you reading this: If you have the ability to take the stairs, take the stairs! I would have given anything to be able to take the stairs again!

One other thing I had to deal with was the constant staring of everyone around me. Also, people would constantly make comments on how fun my scooter looked and that they wished they had one too. No, no you don't. Be thankful for the working legs you have, please, because I'm envying yours right now. Oh, and to the people who park in handicapped spots even though you can easily walk from the parking lot to the door, thanks for making me squeeze between cars and struggle to get onto my scooter.

People have no idea how hard it really is to be handicapped and people genuinely do not care. Self-absorption is such a huge problem in society today. Please, think about others before yourself. Better to learn that lesson now than to have to experience it like I had to. I know it's cliche, but be the change you want to see in the world. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, hold the door open for someone who can't do it themselves, don't park in handicapped parking if you don't need it and just be a decent human being. That much could change the lives of so many people.