Going to Middle School
One of the hardest parts of transitioning to this middle school was the social aspect. When people see me, they often think to themselves, “Why does she have a wheelchair and a weird thing coming out of her neck?” I am more on the shy side, and will sometimes get nervous when approaching people. What will they think of me? How will they react to the way that I look? But over time, I have learned to accept the fact that people might give me a weird face and ask questions. I just have to put myself out there and not let these things get to me. I have to show them who I really am inside.
While the transition was difficult and I didn’t know a single person going into this school, I have made some really great friends and have good memories from sixth grade. Some of those memories include my first school dance, ice skating at Bryant Park for one of our field trips (I went out in my wheelchair and had a blast!), and going to restaurants with my friends at lunch.
There have been many times where I have had to advocate for myself to make things better for me at my middle school. For example, in my cafeteria, there are two different types of tables, and my wheelchair can only fit under one of those tables, the booths. If all of the booths were full, I would have to ask and sometimes negotiate with people to move to another table so that I could sit at their booth, which wasn’t always easy. Luckily, I was able to coordinate getting a booth that was reserved specifically for me (and, of course, my friends). Another time that I had to request a specific accommodation was asking to use the staff bathroom because it is a private bathroom that is much bigger and more accessible for my wheelchair.
Sometimes I feel like a fish out of water, the odd one out, but once people get to know me for who I am, not what I might look like, that feeling changes for me, and others too. I know that I will have to continue to put myself out there and advocate for myself in many ways during my life. Middle school is a good place to start.
This blog was first published on the Reeve Foundation website: https://www.christopherreeve.org/blog/life-after-paralysis/going-to-middle-school