We Are Not Our Disability

 

We did not choose to be disabled.
We did not make ourselves this way.

So why should we have to apologise for existing?

We are not “too much.”
We are not a burden.
We are people.

Our disabilities are part of us,
but they are not all of us.

We have strengths.
We have challenges.
Just like you.

We are different—not less.
Different from you,
and different from each other.

There is more to us than what you see.
You just need to take the time to know us.

We do not make the rules—governments and systems do.
We are not here to make life difficult for the world.
We are simply living in it, the best way we can.

You may choose to walk away from us.
But we cannot walk away from ourselves—
just like you cannot walk away from who you are.

We are human beings.
Not labels.
Not stereotypes.
Not problems to solve.

We breathe.
We feel.
We communicate.

Even if we stutter,
even if we struggle,
we are still speaking your language.

We are still here.