Anyone who has a disability just wants to be treated like everyone else, even if they walk differently or look differently.
I HAVE CEREBRAL PALSY (CP), a physical disability that affects the left side of my body. My brain can’t tell my muscles to relax, so I’m constantly locked up. I have this amazing device called the ExoSym™ that helps me get around more easily.
My parents were told I might never be able to walk at all, but I worked hard to keep up with my athletic family. My identical twin sister doesn’t have CP. I’ve always had the mentality that I can do everything you can do, maybe just a little bit slower. Language is so important when you talk to a child with CP; you’re telling them either “you can do it” or “you can’t.”
On long hikes, my legs get really fatigued. A lot of people ask if I’m okay, but I try to normalize the way I am as much as I can. I think at the end of the day, anyone who has a disability just wants to be treated like everyone else, even if they walk differently or look differently. They should be treated with the same regard and understanding.
People have asked me, “How are you so open about your CP?” I don’t feel like I have a choice. I think that if I were to hide that side of myself, I wouldn’t feel happy and whole. I like to encourage other people to be who they are without reservations. I want other people to know that it’s good to be intentional, too, and think about what they want to do and achieve.
KATY FETTERS
If you want to engage with the outdoor space, not simply recreate, there’s value in storytelling. The key is to strike the right balance between sharing your story and listening to and amplifying the stories of others.
SHARE There’s a difference between talking about yourself and leading by example. Sharing your story need not be rooted in narcissism, but representation and connection. There has typically been a narrow range of experiences that has dominated our narratives about the outdoors. You should share your own story, because the same old tales can be told for only so long around the campfire. New stories are an opportunity to bond, engage, and ignite dialogue and connection. If you write a poem about the anxiety (and excitement!) you felt on the knife edge of Mount Katahdin and you share it with a friend and she gets it, your story grows.
LISTEN We all want to see ourselves reflected in others. We want to see ourselves in the media we consume and the spaces we inhabit. The outdoors is no different. For the last few years, women and nonbinary folk and fat people and Indigenous cultures and immigrants and people of color have been screaming, “We’re here!” Make sure you listen to and consider the experiences that may not be your own.
AMPLIFY Don’t stop at telling your own story, amplify others. Take the little stool you’ve been standing on and pass it along. Search outside of yourself to discover what it takes to support what you believe in, and do it with all your heart.
