It's easy to turn a blind eye to those who are different than you. But, what if you got to know even one of the 6.5 million kids with a special disability? What if you simply took 10 minutes out of your day to get to know one of them. You see, almost 8 years ago, I made that decision to spend 10 minutes with a girl at my school. In that moment, I didn't know that she would single-handedly impact my life in the greatest way.
I met Haley in my sixth-grade gym class. Not many people talked to her or other special needs kids in our block. I decided that I would walk with her one day, and I can honestly say that is one of the best decisions I have made. I started to walk with her every day. Each day was a different story about her growing up, or her family, or her friends. She often told me the same stories about her doctor and the Botox he gave her to "make her work right." Over the years, I started to see her outside of school. She was on a special needs cheer team that I coached so our bond grew even stronger. I learned of her disability only last year. When Haley was born, she had a seizure. This damaged the entire right side of her body, leaving her brain only half working, her hands, legs, so on. Opening my heart to special needs kids opened my eyes to the world beyond my own.
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Haley wasn't the only one-- there was many more who I met along the way.
For instance, Paula. Paula joined our cheer team two seasons ago; she is one of the most high-spirited girls there. She always has a smile on her face, never complains and always runs up to hug you.
There was Lisa, who is nonverbal but trust me, she has a lot to say. Lisa knows only a few phrases, so often times, we will hear the happy birthday song in a continuous cycle. Lisa would come visit at school, but was also a part of our team. Even more than that though, Lisa was one of the first people I worked with who taught me how to communicate with someone who struggles with communicating with you.
Honestly, there are so many disabled kids that I have met over the years, and there is not one that I don't love dearly. If I sat here and told you about each of the girls who is on the cheerleading team, I would be typing forever. Honestly, all these girls want is to be happy, and I'm glad that I can be one of the people to give that to them. What I do isn't anything special, I assure you that you could go out and do something right now. It's these girls who are the special ones, I mean, they can instantly put you on cloud nine. They all mean their own chunk of the world to me.
Haley is different though, Haley is my best friend. You see, I fell in love with all the quirky things she does and all the stories she tells. As I look towards my future, and begin to prepare for college, I know that she will be around waiting to give me a big Haley hug and a kiss on the cheek. I can honestly say that she is one of the most important people in my life. It's not easy to find a true friend, but luckily, I found mine.
