Throughout my life I’ve learned that I have to do some odd things in simple scenarios. I’ve had to pop a wheelie in grass or gravel to avoid being launched out of my wheelchair. Along with that, I've had to carefully slide my way down the streets of San Francisco; otherwise, I was in danger of picking up terminal velocity and making an imprint in a nearby car, Looney Tunes style. I have had Spina Bifida since I was born. Throughout the course of my life, I have had to walk with leg braces and arm crutches. I also use a wheelchair for most of my school day. Spina bifida has given me some experiences that are out of the ordinary, past just the hurdles of ordinary life (which are quite difficult when I can’t jump), such as physical therapy, an increased amount of doctor appointments, and accidentally hurting myself while not feeling it. Due to the challenges of my existence, I tend to look on the bright side of situations and I am far more patient than many of my able-bodied peers. My outlook can be defined in one simple mantra: “What do you do when you fall down? You get back up.” This motto has allowed me to live my life not in the fear of failure, but with the knowledge that I can always pick myself back up, whether literally or figuratively. Furthermore, because of how often I have had to adapt and find new, creative solutions to my problems, that has prepared me for the massive change that comes when moving into college life. Even though I don’t know exactly how moving out and living on my own will go, I do know that because of these skills, I will not only survive but thrive. I realized I wanted to be a writer when I first wrote the backstory for my Dungeons and Dragons character Bramdir. It was a simple objective: to give Bramdir an initial goal for the Dungeon Master to write into the story and give him some basic personality. When my Dungeon Master read it, he was more than impressed. To be able to make characters that imitated life so well, and especially have people love it when they read it, got me addicted. To date, Bramdir’s story has expanded to be over seventeen chapters long. Character development captivates me. From a wholesome bundle of joy turned numb and disillusioned, to an “irredeemable,” well… being redeemed, character change is a complex balance of timing, environment, and events. I love being able to make characters improve and slowly learn that they can get better, especially with others. In college, I want to take this passion and pursue a career in screenwriting and storytelling. I want to bring characters to life that will make viewers talk about just how real the conflicts felt. Just as Bramdir’s story has continued to grow and evolve, I hope to grow in the same way, expanding my knowledge of genre and writing style to enthrall whoever reads my works. In the field, I hope to bring the gift of thought. So often people go through life not questioning. My expertise is in asking “What if...?” I believe that when I tell stories, I can give others this gift.

I have had Spina Bifida since I was born. Throughout the course of my life I have had to walk with leg braces and arm crutches. More recently, I have been using a wheelchair for most of my school day. Spina bifida has given me some experiences that are out of the ordinary, such as physical therapy, an increased amount of doctor appointments, and accidentally hurting myself while not feeling it. Sometimes I have had difficulty getting around places, such as field trips to wilderness areas or the grass. Despite these challenges, Spina Bifida has given me a much brighter outlook on life than most of my peers. In fact this outlook can be defined in one simple mantra of “What do you do when you fall down? You get back up.” This motto has allowed me to live my life not in the fear of failure, but with the knowledge that I can always pick myself back up, whether literally or figuratively. My disability has also granted me a disarming presence and has allowed me to make friends fairly easily. For example, throughout my life I’ve learned that I have to do some odd things in simple scenarios. When the average person thinks about threats to a disabled person, they might assume that items such as shelves slightly too high or a simple counter might be an issue, but there are a few things that would never occur to their mind, such as The Grass. I’ve had to pop a wheelie in grass or gravel to avoid too little or too much purchase and end up having my wheelchair dip and launch me out, causing a threat to my beautiful face. Along with that, while getting up a steep hill might be a challenge, what you may not expect is that going back down can be harder. I've had to carefully slide my way down the streets of San Francisco because otherwise I was in danger of picking up terminal velocity and making an imprint in a nearby car, Looney Tunes style. On the other hand, sometimes the challenge is people. Often in spaces with large crowds, such as Disneyland, I get to play the most high stakes game of Frogger, worming my way through small children and overstimulated adults who don’t see me in my wheelchair, below their line of sight. I see things differently from other people, but that is hardly a bad thing. Due to the challenges of my existence, I always tend to look on the bright side of situations and I am far more patient than many of my able bodied peers. Because of how often I have had to adapt and find new, creative solutions to my problems, that has prepared me for the massive change that comes when moving into college life. Even though I don’t know exactly how moving out and living on my own will go, I do know that because of these skills, the lines of thinking that have helped me get through my days already, I will not only survive but thrive.