My CP may be one of the mildest cases on record. I can see, hear, and speak just fine. My walking is "off," but I can walk, and wore leg braces on and off for 12 years. I can't write with a pencil, but I've got some of the fastest typing fingers you've ever seen. And I have zero depth perception, but I still gravitated toward theater—and its obstacles—in school.

Of course, those who "cared" often didn't see the real me. Math teachers claimed I was incompetent and had a bad attitude because I hated their courses. Wouldn't you hate math, too, if you couldn't interpret graphs and drawings, and it wrecked your straight-A average? Gym teachers talked about "goals," but never endeavored to make class fun for me. I was often sent out in the hall with another "special" kid (often one with behavior problems), to do babyish activities like hitting a ball off a cone while other students played real games.

My parents fought for me, but they couldn't extinguish the seeds of hopelessness that having a disability planted completely. Turning 18 meant I started to dream of independent living. I want a husband, a family, a Real Job. At times, that seems like the most unrealistic dream I could conjure, though my mind and spirit scream differently. For years, I've worked on undergraduate and Master's degrees, prayed, waited, and tried to deal with the leftovers of Disability World. Sometimes I'm successful, sometimes not. Sometimes my Christian faith even gets in my way—what if God doesn't want me to be independent? A human can't trump God.

But your website has lit a fire. I want to advocate for myself and others, to use my gifts—and gifts first—to communicate about myself. It feels wonderful that other people agree with the truths buried under Disability World's effects on my spirit. I've skimmed several articles, never stopping to fully read them because I knew if I did, only my skin would keep me from going everywhere I could to make your message a reality. Thank you, and thanks for letting me tell my story here.

Stephanie McCall