Different Not Debilitated by Faith

Different Not Debilitated by Faith - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

October 12, 1971. A nearly bald brown baby was born in Clarkdale, Mississippi. What she didn’t know was that 27 years later I would be born. Our paths had not crossed yet and they wouldn’t until 2003. However, in that fateful year of 1998, my mom became a teacher. In 2003 my dad remarried to this teacher. I was only five at the time but I would have a lot to learn. As time went by, this wonderful woman has taught me a plethora of things: respect, discipline, perseverance, love, and how to sneak food in the middle of the night without being caught.
I couldn’t begin to count the many lessons that my mom has taught me at home, but I travel back to her classroom in order to unveil the most important lesson that I have learned from a teacher. While I strongly believe that all teachers are people who should truly be valued and appreciated, I believe there is a special breed of people whose heart is in teaching special education. My mom was a special education teacher and she still is one of those people.
I learned that different does not debilitated. When I was little, I saw those kids whose were the same age as me yet couldn’t do all the things that I could as different. A little older they made me uncomfortable. When I got a little older I felt sorry them. As I learn and grow watch my mom’s past students become adults like I am, I put away my old way of thinking. I learned that those who are different—mentally, emotionally, physically—do not need to be pitied but empowered. Empowerment goes beyond what I may think a person may be limited to and unlocked the faith the person has in themselves.