Disability and Adversity

Aimee Mullins, an accomplished athlete, actress, and model, demonstrates in this TED Talk the power of words to define people. She also speaks about living with a disability and how she has overcome adversity. In particular, she reveals the problem with defining adversity as something to be overcome and the way society has made “disabled” synonymous with disadvantaged. Below is a transcript from her speech:

“The human ability to adapt, it’s an interesting thing, because people have continually wanted to talk to me about overcoming adversity, and I’m going to make an admission: This phrase never sat right with me, and I always felt uneasy trying to answer people’s questions about it, and I think I’m starting to figure out why. Implicit in this phrase of “overcoming adversity” is the idea that success, or happiness, is about emerging on the other side of a challenging experience unscathed or unmarked by the experience, as if my successes in life have come about from an ability to sidestep or circumnavigate the presumed pitfalls of a life with prosthetics, or what other people perceive as my disability. But, in fact, we are changed. We are marked, of course, by a challenge, whether physically, emotionally or both. And I’m going to suggest that this is a good thing. Adversity isn’t an obstacle that we need to get around in order to resume living our life. It’s part of our life. And I tend to think of it like my shadow. Sometimes I see a lot of it, sometimes there’s very little, but it’s always with me. And, certainly, I’m not trying to diminish the impact, the weight, of a person’s struggle.”

I think Mullins describes adversity in a way which is empowering rather than debilitating. She also emphasizes the fact that everyone experiences adversity and that you cannot experience adversity and walk away unchanged. It takes its toll on you, but the key is to approach it as a learning experience and grow in positive ways. Although it is often difficult in the moment of adversity to see it as positive, falling into despair is giving up an opportunity to grow as an individual.

Beat The Odds Scholarship Program

The Beat the Odds program originally began in 1990 by the Children’s Defense Fund. This program serves to honor and reward students who have faced significant adversity in their lives with scholarships each year. Beat the Odds sends a message to these “at-risk” youth that they are valued and supported by their community. When the awards are presented, the recipients are introduced by the adult that has been significant to them during their struggles or their academic career. This emotionally moving event highlights the fact that a struggling person’s success starts with having someone believing in and supporting them.

The stories related to these young people’s challenges are diverse ranging from abuse, foster care, poverty, physical disabilities, homelessness and more. Although their experiences are unique, the message throughout is that these individuals have “beat the odds”. Some of the stories and photos of past recipients can be found at Beat the Odds Loudoun Awards.

What Is Adversity?

Inevitable

retrieved from morguefile.com

The defining characteristic of life is the adversity we face as individuals. It shapes the people we become by providing avenues and choices which show the merits of dedication, perseverance, and willpower. These inescapable obstacles range from the trivial to the seemingly insurmountable. This blog focuses on the challenges of life which seem overwhelming, defeating, and unfair. These individuals must ultimately make a choice to feel victimized or rise to the challenge life presents them as a survivor. The choice they make defines their perspective of life. It can help define and strengthen their character as well as will, or make them feel helpless, isolated, and possibly even persecuted.  These comments are not written as fact, yet they hold an element of truth both in my experience and the stories of individuals who have faced these types of inescapable and defining challenges.

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