Tag Archives: disability

Day 1945: 21 Icons season 3 episode 16: Oliver Hermanus

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“Greatness is simplicity. Great people, great things, great achievements, they’re usually achievements of simplicity. It’s the heart of something, the truth of it – for me, greatness is that truth.” – Oliver Hermanus

 

It’s 12: 00 PM on day 1945 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray, read 2 Corinthians 11, have breakfast, learn one new thing – To see a man about a dog or to see a man about a horse is an English language colloquialism, usually used as a way to say one needs to apologize for one’s imminent departure or absence – generally euphemistically to conceal one’s true purpose, such as going to use the toilet or going to buy a drink.- and promote my  25 Smiles Campaign – after mom donated $250 yesterday Sneha Abraham donated $125 and Anonymous donated  $50 (thanks so much Sneha and Anonymous the support from both of you means the world to me 🙂 ) which brings my total raised to $425   only $5 825 more to raise in 364 days (SO HUMBLED and grateful 🙂 ) .

 

This morning I watched season 3 episode 16 of 21 Icons featuring ground-breaking filmmaker Oliver Hermanus – Oliver’s third film, The Endless River, was the first film by a South African to be chosen to compete at the Venice International Film Festival – people like Oliver give me hope for South Africa. Watch “21 Icons: Oliver Hermanus Short Film” below:

Day 1944: Help me and Smile Train #Give25Smiles

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“A smile is happiness you’ll find right under your nose.” – Tom Wilson

 

It’s 2:  12 PM on day 1944 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray, read 2 Corinthians 10, created my 25 Smiles Campaign benefiting Smile Train – my 25 Smiles campaign  aims to raise $6 250 and awareness about cleft lip and cleft palate (see next paragraph for details) (thanks to mom for donating $250 only $6 000 more to raise in 365 days) and made a video about the campaign (see at the bottom  of this post)

 

This morning I started 25 Smiles – a fundraising campaign benefiting Smile Train, an organization that provides free cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries for people, especially kids, in 87 of the world’s poorest countries   – because I believe that every child deserves every opportunity to make a success of their lives. My goal is to raise $6 250 in 12 months (which is enough money to pay for 25 surgeries [in honour of my 25th year of life]).For more information about 25 Smiles or to make a donation please visit http://bit.ly/Give25Smiles  and use #Give25Smiles when tweeting about this campaign.

[Update January 12, 2017: Campaign ended 2 days ago. Final total raised is $10 317.04 [enough money to sponsor 41 smiles]]

Day 1943: Destiny and Humanity

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“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.”― Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

It’s 9: 46 AM on day 1943 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray, read 2 Corinthians 9 and learn one new thing – On January 18, 1778, the English explorer Captain James Cook becomes the first European to discover the Hawaiian Islands when he sails past the island of Oahu.

 

Today I came across the Emerson quote above and I found it to be so true people have this idea that we have a predetermined destiny which is ridiculous we create our own destinies by the choices we make and the chances we take.

Day 1942: The Price of Being Extraordinary

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In life you can either be just another number or you can choose to be extraordinary both choices have its pros and cons – that’s what I keep realizing.

 

It’s 9: 49 AM on day 1942 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray, read 2 Corinthians 8, learn one new thing – The Sargasso Sea, The Sea Without A Shore. The Sargasso Sea is located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, just a little north of the equator. The water in the Sargasso Sea is one of the clearest in the ocean, with underwater visibility of up to and incredible 200 feet. – and listen to music.

 

This morning I was thinking about how strange life is the people who do nothing have no care in the world while the people who actually strive to make a contribution get criticized and railroaded I guess that’s the price we have to pay for choosing to live extraordinary lives.

Day 1941: “A Day On My Wheels”

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“I may be disabled but I most certainly am not unable.” – Sarah Kim

 

It’s 9: 49 AM on day 1941 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray, read 2 Corinthians 7 and learn one new thing – Ruminating mammals include cattle, goats, sheep, giraffes, bison, moose, elk, yaks, water buffalo, deer, camels, alpacas, llamas, and antelope. Ruminants differ from non-ruminants (called monogastrics) because they have a four-chambered stomach.

 

Yesterday I watched “A Day On My Wheels” – Sarah Kim’s poignant letter to those who pity her because she has Cerebral Palsy – I might as well be Sarah the things she said in that letter are my thoughts exactly. Watch “A Day On My Wheels” below:

Day 1940: Observations of India

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“India is a curious place that still preserves the past, religions, and its history. No matter how modern India becomes, it is still very much an old country.” – Anita Desai

 

It’s 11: 05 AM on day 1940 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray, read 2 Corinthians 6 and learn one new thing – Despite its name, Worcestershire sauce was originally an Indian recipe, brought back to Britain by Lord Marcus Sandys, ex-Governor of Bengal. One day in 1835, Sandys appeared in a prospering chemist’s emporium in Worcestershire, England, and asked the chemist to create a batch of sauce from his recipe.

 

A month ago my family and I went to India I saw and experienced so many things there that I felt compelled to write them down. Take a look:

Observations of India

  • Cash is king (as we were leaving the airport upon our arrival the security guard was arguing with my uncle over a few cents)
  • India is becoming more open-minded and accepting with each passing day (when I went to India in 2011 everywhere I went people stared at me blatantly but this time around people hardly paid any attention to me it was awesome)
  • Some Indians are super nice (one afternoon we were outside a restaurant and a autorickshaw driver put my wheelchair in the boot for us while my sister was putting me in the car after which without a word he came to the passenger side of the car, kissed my hand and left I will never forget him)
  • The people I’ve seen in India have no regard for road rules (because the roads are narrow and people are impatient they do some crazy things to get where they need to go like U-turns in the middle of the road and swerving into different lanes ….travelling on Indian roads is SCARY)
  • It takes forever to get anywhere in India (we went to visit family friends one day and no joke it took us 4 hours to travel 40 kilometres I could not believe it)
  • It always hot (it wasn’t even summer while we were there but the moment we stepped outside we were boiling)
  • The people I’ve seen in India have no regard for the environment (people eat in the car then throw the packets outside the window)
  • India embraces all religions (I saw a church directly opposite a mosque it was a sight to behold)
  • India is designed for the able-bodied (most places you go to in Kerala have stairs and no lifts [simple things like going to restaurants and the movies were the hardest for me because we had to check beforehand if the places were wheelchair accessible])

 

Day 1939: Doing unto others

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Sometimes people don’t do unto you as you do unto them– that’s what I keep realizing.

 

It’s 9:  35 AM on day 1939 of my journey towards independence prayed, read 2 Corinthians 5 and learned one new thing – Orcas, or killer whales, are the largest of the dolphins and one of the world’s most powerful predators. They feast on marine mammals such as seals, sea lions, and even whales, employing teeth that can be four inches (ten centimeters) long.

 

Today I realized that sometimes people don’t do unto you as you do unto them it’s sad and it hurts but that’s life I need to grow up and toughen up.

Day 1938: Ability Level and Personality

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My ability level and my personality don’t match – that’s what I keep realizing.

 

It’s 12: 53 PM on day 1938 of my journey towards independence prayed, read 2 Corinthians 4 listened to music, learned one new thing -The tallest U.S. Presidents were Abraham Lincoln and Lyndon B. Johnson at 6 ft 4 in (193 cm), while the shortest was James Madison at 5 ft 4 in (163 cm). The average height of a US president has been 5 ft 10.7 inches and 5 ft 11.6 inches since 1900.- and spent time with family

 

Today I found myself wanting to do adventure sports I’m quite an adventurous person but because I have Cerebral Palsy it’s hard for me to express it there’s a mismatch between my ability level and personality.

 

Day 1937: Love, Family and a Wedding

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When all is said and done love is all that remains – that’s what I keep realizing.

 

It’s 9: 06 AM on day 1937 of my journey towards independence prayed, read 2 Corinthians 3 listened to music and learned one new thing -Left-handedness is less common than right-handedness. Left-handed people are more skillful with their left hands when performing tasks. Studies suggest that approximately 10% of the world population is left-handed. Mixed-handedness is the change of hand preference between tasks.

 

Yesterday my cousin got married the ceremony and reception were beautiful everybody we knew showed up I guess it’s a testament to well my cousin and her husband have lived the whole day was filled with so much love. Welcome to the family chachen you’re officially one of us we have your back now and forevermore.

Day 1935: 2016 To-Do List

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“And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been.” – Rainer Maria Rilke

 

It’s 8: 49 AM on day 1935 of my journey towards independence prayed, read 2 Corinthians 1 and listened to music.

 

Today is the first year of 2016 and in honour of that (yep you guessed it) I created a 2016 To-Do List. Take a look:

2016 To-Do List

  1. Raise $6 250+ for Smile Train ($6 250 will pay for 25 cleft lip/palate surgeries [in honour of my 25th year of life]) (I will probably start the fundraising campaign later this month)  (surpassed goal of  sponsoring 25 smiles through my 25 Smiles Campaign now attempting to sponsor 50 smiles before Jan 10 2017)
  2. Be respectful, kind, honest and generous (Am trying to be)
  3. Call my godparents once a month (Have called them every month I didn’t see them)
  4. Learn one new thing every day (doing it)
  5. Continue trying to finish reading The Bible (done on April 20, 2016)
  6. Continue to make sandwiches for sisi’s (our housekeeper’s) neighbourhood as part of Virginia’s Sandwich Run (doing it)
  7. Read 20+ books (read 6 books so far)
  8. Self-publish my book Life: My thoughts on everything from faith to beauty
  9. Support myself financially
  10. Meet Jacqui Mackway-Wilson 
  11. Meet Sebastian Schütte
  12. Learn to fully undress and redress myself
  13. Learn to help myself in the bathroom

(Note: This post was updated on July 14, 2016)