A little less conversation

A little less conversation

Where to begin? Do you know that there were 206,000 books published in the UK in 2006? We are a nation of readers, but what makes authors believe they have the next best seller. For sometime now, I have been thinking about writing my own life story. Not because I am old, because I feel I have a different perspective to put on life and the words cerebral palsy. There are a lot of stories about how parents and carers cope with disability in their life, but very few actual cerebral palsy suffers speak out. I think it is because cerebral palsy is term used for a disability that ranges from mild speech impediment to severe mental disability. It is never the same in any one person and if you try to generalise the condition, you will succeed in getting it wrong for 99% of your audience. I know even to attempt writing about cerebral palsy means I must put a clause into my writings to say that I am speaking from my own experience and I do not wish to offend anyone.

When I am feeling inspired, I think I would make a good life coach and public speaker. That would be something to get a prime time audience and talk to them after dinner and perhaps my words would even get them thinking about our society and how we actually view disable people. But then, do people really want to listen to a voice like mine? Honestly, well, I have to say yes, I have always been listened to. I am too loud to be ignored. I am one who excelled in a system that 100 years ago I wouldn’t have been allowed to be apart of , who fought to be counted as an equal and squashed anyone who ever dared to put my disability before my ability. I have broken every ceiling that seemed to fence me in and I am happiest only when the next great adventure is filling my head with fire. So where do I start my story, well I am not sure, life has so many surprises and I think my 30th birthday was one of them, when I realised I had something in common with Elvis Presley (1935 -1977).

Elvis - I remember being in High School and one of the girls talked about their connection with Elvis because they had born on the day Elvis had died and that they felt his presence. I must admit, I probably laughed inwardly and couldn’t understand her thoughts on the power of Elvis. I suppose I don’t really have a lot of knowledge of Elvis so I probably couldn’t understand what it meant. Elvis’s songs were something that you played when you were learning keyboard at home - my mum used to play Love me Tender on the keyboard and I had seen some documentaries about him but that was about it. Now if it had been John Lennon or Paul McCartney, I think I would have understood. The Beatles obsession will perhaps come out in a later chapter. So what do I have in common with Elvis?. It is that fact that we both have won a TOYP.

What a TOYP? I hear you ask. Outstanding Young Person’s Awards (TOYP) is an international awards programme run by Junior Chamber International (JCI) that servers to recognise individuals between the age of 18 and 40, who exemplify the best attributes of the world’s young people. TOYP’s aim is to recognise the achievements of young leaders in a variety of fields to inspire others to Be Better - the core theme of JCI. Elvis went on to win at international level, whilst I was only recognised at National Level along with names like Michelle Mone, Mark Chadwick and Jamie Andrew. I won my award for Humanitarian and/or Voluntary Leadership. It was some way to celebrate turning thirty. Sometimes, it hard to believe that it was me standing receiving an award at national level and making an speak - it is so far from the speech and physical therapy that I went through to even get myself notice. But it is not about getting noticed or about lime light. It is about telling others that there is accepting world out there. That maybe nothing is easy and maybe there will be a million times when people will be wrong in their behaviour towards you, but that with the right support, there is nothing you cannot conquer. It is also about the simple things in life - I didn’t have to win a TOYP to have a connection to Elvis. My best friend, Ed, his Grandfather was a journalist and was the only journalist to interview Elvis in Scotland.