Our Beautiful Challenges — Marie

For the most part, I’m happy with who I am as a person living with a disability. Still, every now and then, I do get in a mood where I feel like people don’t always see how much of a struggle it can be for me to go about my day.

I don’t let my disability stop me, but that doesn’t mean life is easy.

There are days when even getting out of bed feels hard. Days when my body hurts, my mind feels exhausted, and I wonder why things have to be so challenging sometimes.

But even on those days, I still get out of bed.

I get out of bed because I don’t want my disability to take over my life. I want to keep living, keep trying, and keep proving to myself that I am more than my hardest moments.

At the same time, I do my best not to let people see that side of me. I try so hard to push through things that sometimes people forget I even have a disability at all.

And honestly, that can create even more pressure for me.

Because when people see me always pushing forward, they expect me to always rise above the hard days too. They don’t always realize that there are moments when my body and mind are struggling more than they can see.

People also don’t always understand what it takes just to keep myself above water every day. There is so much physical, mental, and emotional energy that goes into simply keeping my life moving forward.

What many people don’t see is that even accepting help can be challenging.

Needing help with day-to-day life is not always easy emotionally. Sometimes asking for help makes me feel vulnerable. Sometimes I wish I could do everything on my own without needing support from anyone.

I also carry this deep feeling of wanting to give back to the people who have helped me throughout my life. I never want people to feel like I’m not trying or that I don’t care.

So sometimes, even on my weakest days, I still try to help others when they ask me to.

And when I can’t, I don’t just worry about disappointing them — I end up disappointing myself too.

Another thing that can be frustrating is when disability support systems are misunderstood or taken for granted. For people like me, these programs are not about avoiding responsibility or giving up on life. They are part of what helps us survive, stay independent, and continue moving forward despite our challenges.

That is why it can sometimes feel scary or upsetting when people judge disability support without understanding what it truly means for those of us who genuinely rely on it.

At the end of the day, I am proud of the life I continue to build for myself.

Even on the days people cannot see how hard I am fighting just to stay above water.