'Empowerment'. Where does it come from? I think, the moment I accept myself the way I am and embrace myself, that is the moment I feel most empowered.
I have seen people respecting me for living a "normal" life and doing what I want. I can do that thanks to the support I have received from the moment I was born.
Growing up, I have learnt about different sorts of discrimination. But I don’t remember facing what the term 'discrimination' refers to myself. Neither as a girl nor as a person with disabilities. And that fact shaped me. Because of that, I have never thought of myself in a different way, as a woman or a person with disabilities. Even today. People around me embrace and loved me for who I am instead of labelling me in stereotypes. They didn’t hold me back, rather, they inspired and pushed me to go, to participate, to prove myself.
I have learnt to think of myself not merely as a girl or a person with disabilities, but as a human being. Equality and empowerment come from that realization. That we are all different, but end of the day we are all humans and that is what that counts.
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