Hey Everyone! Don’t worry I am still alive, sorry about not taking the time to write to you all!
Hmm so this is the part where I just talk and talk about school and how it’s going but ill just save you some time and say…. good, busy, busy, fun, stressful, with a new experience every day! This week is club rush week and I am Vice President of a Save the Dolphin’s Club! For those of you who are animal activists please go see the movie THE COVE out in small theaters!! Or go to www.savejapandolphins.com and you can see first hand what is really happening to these dolphins in a small cove off Taiji, Japan. It is worth your while trust me! Yet shocking and brutal fyi… This club will hopefully give a voice to these dolphins, we’ll hold protests outside any dolphin captivity facilities, raise funds and spread awareness about this rising issue. 23,000 dolphins are expected to be slaughtered this season in the cove and we can only stop it if we educate people about the reality of these barbaric activities.
On a much lighter note, I just want to talk about a conversation I just had with a friend of mine. We were both just realeasing a bit of our thoughts and feelings about school and all that goes on. I told her that I am noticing that being around teenagers is almost as hard as being one! I try not to pity myself, but at times I can’t help but feel a bit overwhelmed by these people at my school. I’ve got a whole new crowd of freshman, and new kids/teachers to explain my CP to (if asked) and it takes a little out of me everytime. Teenagers don’t always make sense of difference and I feel that sometimes they have a harder time with acceptance. Really, in my opinion, what it comes down to is that teens either are ignorant or oblivious. Many frankly, either don’t care or dont know so they just move onto familiarity and comfort. That is how we as young adults operate, we conform with others so we don’t feel vulnurable and outcasted. While I cannot say that I may fit into that statement perfectly, I do not draw attention to myself as a result of my ongoing confidence struggle with my physical appearance because of my CP. I know that I have improved tremendously with my self confidence; however, I do feel a little lost at times in learning how to be satisfied with who I am, and who I portray myself as to others. Many people tell me I am shy, sweet, “a good, nice person” and not that these aren’t all great qualities, but I would like for people to see what I have to offer them. I am very deep, and mature for my age having dealt with CP my entire life while still managing to feel optimistic about it. I don’t feel like I connect as well with people my age versus adults. When I tell adults about my CP they tell me how inspriational I am..and thank you to whomever you are. But kids, you see, have this look on their face of, “oh man that sucks, I feel bad for you.” I know that people look at me differently. It’s human nature, we are curious beings. I am just sick and tired of being judged by outsiders! I can’t wait until I can see the world and meet people who will truly take the time to get to know me and what I am about. Not based of of my actions, school GPA, community service, or appearance. I dont think it is possible to know someone until youve heard their view on life and become really immersed in their thoughts, feelings, and opinions about things that matter to them. Take this scenario for example: A college admissinoer may see my college application in a few years with some noteworthy performances, but until he reads my essay, he cannot accept me to be a part of the college because he does not see what sets me apart from others. In this also, he will not know that I have CP unless I choose to inform him. Which, in a real-life situation that happens almost daily, kids will ask and I will tell them about my CP and either they will overlook it or their view of me will change in that instant. I could say much more but I think it will come with time.
What are your thoughts about my many opinions about us teens? Was my analysis about the world too harsh? Are we seeing eye to eye?
Thank you for checking my blog even though I haven’t posted in over a week!
Enjoy October!
Stay happy and healthy 
-Katy
i agreed on most points except when i did my apps a few years ago i chose not to go the i have cp route. that can be taken as “pity me”. when you do them write apout something you feel proud of like like what i wrote about helping teach at a ski program for cognitevly impaired adults.
hey meg!
how come??
how come they would view it as a pity attempt? i chose not to because i knew they only take around 5 mnutes to read the essays and the rest and i wanted to make it about something that didnt conrol my life. also they could take as this student has a disabilty and we should admit or deny based on that fact depending on if they have issues since only one person really does the admissons. i feel like im doing a really bad job at explaining this.
whoa that was weird it didnt post my whole response to your first comment..well let me start over haha….no i totally agree with you in that colleges will play that “pity” card and that isnt really valuable to their school in a sense. i know what you mean dont worry haha..what college do/did you go to?
I’d like to comment on Meg’s idea that CP should not be used in college apps. I believe it would be a travesty to leave out something that so greatly affected your life. I don’t see it as trying to gain “pity” but rather explaining something that you had to overcome to do the things that you are proud of. It makes the things that you are proud of even more amazing and adds a unique element to your application that the majority of students don’t have. It makes you stand out and I believe not writing about your CP would be like leaving a major part of your life out. They want to know about you and whether you like it or not CP is a part of you…
This is just my opinion sorry for being so confrontational…
Greg youre entitled to your own opinion don’t worry haha…but yes I think that I should mention my CP when I apply to college. With that said, I don’t think I would write about it in the perspective where they will feel sorry for me, or pity me, but instead I’ll explain it in a way where they will say like this girl knows where she wants to go in life and she wont let anything stop her. She’s overcome so much….no pity in that I think. Thanks for commenting!
Not to mention, that it would be crazy for me not to mention my blog on here and all that I have done while I have had this blog in my apps. But I see where you are coming from Meg, it does cause pity depending if you choose to write about your life that way. Thanks for sharing your opinions!
greg, yeah cp has affected my life. its gotten me abused, kicked out of school, restaurants and shunned. its also made me strong and independent. i think that it shows greater stregnth to go and write about what ive done dispite that. and i amend my ealier statement, in my essay i inferred i had i disability but i did not outright state it but again they do only take about 5 minutes per app and about 1 to read the essay and i know this for a fact. are you the greg that pimps katys blog….do you even have cp? as for katys qquestion i go to moravian.
this is so impersonal
hey meg… I hope that greg didnt offend you in any way because that was not his intention! yes hes also the same greg who runs my website…no he doesnt have cp but i think he really understands it from being around me so much and helping me run this blog.. what do you mean by “this is so impersonal”? just curious.
neat school by the way meg it looks really nice and unique!
he didnt really offend me but to say that you should put something in an essay that im my opinion he has no way of fully comprehending no matter how much time he spends with you is just rediculous. my ot who i went to for 14 years saw stuff she had never dealt with before with me and others and she had worked in the field for 50 years. i had friends in hs that were bipolar or add/adhd we understood what eachother had and made concetions for eachother when we needed help but we knew that we could never understand what the others really went theough.even my rents dont. and moravians pretty cool the proffs are nice. i say its imprersonal becaue there isent really any interaction. atleast in fb there that im/chat thing and i know youve got that chat box but noones ever there and say inna group other people could make topics.
Ok, well like I said to greg, you are entitled to your own opinions no harm in that. Thanks for explaining your reasoning behind why you think what greg said was not fully riteous, but I do think you should allow him to share his thoughts because this is what my blog is intended for, CP or not we are all teenagers with something on our minds. I like that this is open topic is open for discussion and I think everyone in this conversation has as much right to share their opinion as someone does with CP like you and I. I agree with you in that he will never fully understand what its like having CP, because no one does better than us. As for my blog being impersonal, I actually have a separate forum through through http://www.cnsfoundation.org that is open for creating your own topics. You should definitely check it out!
I have tried to reach out to those that do want to utilize the chat box, but did not get a great response. My original intent for this blog is to share my thoughts and experiences with CP and have discussions through email/comments like we are having now. Also I think that this is in a way more personal because of the fact that people are allowed to email me directly and if they feel like carrying on a more personal, one on one conversation so that they do not feel intimidated by having their thoughts out in the open, they can. Thanks again.
I hate to say this, but things don’t change much for you once you get out of high school, I don’t think — as far as people dealing with someone who moves differently.
I am probably more obvious than you are as I use forearm crutches or a wheelchair, but pretty much everywhere I go when people don’t know me, they stare. And ask the stupidest, most intrusive, most oblivious questions.
Of course, I didn’t have MS in high school, so I have nothing to compare it to.
You know, I kind of figured that in a way… but I think that the difference I was trying to go for, rather than high school to adulthood– is that I’ll be more ready to handle things, and deal with those type of ignorant people in the future. But thanks for your insight, I appreciate it!
Geez, I can’t understand why I didn’t read this sooner. I really ought to spread this around. I believe all teens with CP have felt this way in a very personal sense; it’s so put into perspective and “right there in your face”. Kids can really make you feel your weird or different or don’t belong with them. Katy, I admire your spirit and it’s such a shame that people who consider themselves “normal” can’t see it.
Thank you Courtney! I think I speak for many of us with CP when I say I am glad we can relate to eachother
Exactly, it’s a really good feeling knowing your not alone when others make you feel as though you truly are.
hey,
I was browsing the web about CP and college apps and this showed up!
Wether I should include having CP hemiplegia or not is the question I have until now. Well anyways after reading the comments, here is my view on college apps regarding CP or any other kind of phyical disablities. It is the way you view yourself having CP and how much as a person you have grown because CP, and how it has shaped you in a way. If it is possible write positive of CP meaning, lets take for instance myself, I am a mountain hiker, and tennis player, and environomental activist, yet with CP I am able to lead a regular life, and in even some cases better than most people as a teen. I have achieved what some people cannot do even if they don’t have CP, like climbing Mt. Fuji. By writing this in my college apps I let the reader know, irregardless of how much time is spent in reading, how well I am off with CP, yet I will not spend extraodinary amounts of time writing about CP, because it may look as if the you want to pitied. Well thats my take on CP and college Apps,
Katy nice to see how well you have coped with CP and life. It makes me happy to see I am not the only one out there!
Hope you guys all had a merry christmas, and wish yall a very happy new year!
TJ
Hey TJ,
I couldn’t have said it better myself! I honestly think that it is important to at least mention CP in college apps, because like you said, it could bring a positive viewpoint to the reader, and you could talk about how you are a stronger, more respected person because of it. Thanks so much for sharing your opinion, I really like to hear other people’s points of views…as I will be doing college apps in the near future myself! And wow, you certainly seem like an inspirational individual yourself! I like that you stay so active and fit even though it maybe be a challenge.
Happy New Year to you as well!
Katy
Wow, the both of you have such a great perspective on things. Lol, I’m totally using it to my advantage, especially when it comes time for me to be doing college apps.
For sure!