Sociable

    My parents and I always were out doing something. Like I said in a post, my parents firmly believed taking me with them anywhere. Dad worked at a golf course and then a volunteer member of a fire department. I went to daycare and public school. So, when we went out, everybody talked with us. To me, when I went out, I felt normal and saw friends.
     When I was little, I was not so outgoing as I’m today. When I went to Voc Rehab, I changed so much. Going there made me be me. I guess you could say my apron strings got cut. My parents weren’t so overprotected, but I didn’t know how it felt to be my own person. No, I didn’t go out partying, but I became me without my parents watching over me and tried to learn how to live a Christian life.
Voc Rehab helped me so much, but Rob taught me how I needed to act as a human being and stopped letting people only see my disability. Today I still hear him saying, “Stop letting people run over you. They need to see you like I do.” He picked at me hard, and I learned to pick back hard. I always blamed him for my meanness. Of course, he denied it.
      But seriously, I always love being around people especially who see me, and not my disability. I learned to jokes and talked with people when I can. Making people smile made me felt happy.
      Leaving SC was really hard for me because I loved seeing people that I knew and loved. Since I have been in NC, I have met friends when we go out. My family has been here supporting me.
      I went with my cousins on a beach trip once. I felt free! We had so much fun. They took me to the beach and rented a beach wheelchair so I could get into the ocean.
      My cousin took me to the lake once, and we stayed for a week. We hung out with her friends. I felt like one of the girls. We went shopping.
      When the fire department has Bingo night, I ask my cousin to take me. It is awesome to hang out with my family and meet the town people.
      My church is amazing. We cut up, but when it is time to get serious, joking is put aside and focus on God. My church is small, but I enjoy everything about it.