"Don't dis our abilities" by Julia

"Don't dis our abilities" by Julia - December 2013 Scholarship Essay

In past years I have dedicated every week day to working with kids who have severe disabilities. We participated in things together such as delivering mail, screwing nuts and bolts, sorting colors. However my love for these kids not only changed them, but it changed me as well. This year I have spent every day after school going to Ian Morris’ house and working with him for hours. Although I have taught him skills that he can carry with him throughout his life, he has done the same for me.

I have been impatient, I have been judgmental, I have underestimated people, I have wasted days, hours, minutes.

Patience is constantly coaching someone how to do the same thing over and over again, such as opening the front door, without frustration. Patience is sitting by the bedside every day at 3:32 p.m. waiting for someone to fall asleep because they cannot rest without you being right next to them. Patience is the propensity to help, no matter what. Every single day my patience is tested. Every single day I ace that test.

Ian is a boy who is “too short for his age,” who takes “too long to speak coherent sentences,” who rocks back and forth when he gets excited, who can’t go to the bathroom without assistance, and yet I believe that he loves his life. I have learned that judgment is nothing but that: Judgment.

The average lifespan is 39,420,000 minutes. Ian has had plenty of time to wallow in self pity over the things that he can not and will not accomplish, yet I have not once seen him do so. As I interact with him each day, I realize how important every minute is. Just as time is critical to Ian, time is critical to me.

I am no longer impatient, I am no longer judgmental, I no longer underestimate, and I will never again waste a single day, hour, or minute.