By: Jackie DeWald, LPC
I was born with a physical disability that affected my legs, speech, and my eyes. I had surgery
when I was 10 years old, and before then (and now) walked in my own kind of gait. Now, I know what
you’re thinking: this is a little intense for a blog post. Stay with me, I promise it will make sense in this
story.
Needless to say, I wasn’t usually picked first for PE when we had team captains for certain
games. I was definitely one of the last every single time. Until one day. One of my classmates, Matt, was
picked team captain. I prepared myself for the usual negative feeling in my stomach for being picked
last. However, Matt picked me first. I was the first person to be picked for a team! I was so excited and
shocked. Even now, years later, I can easily recall the joy I felt.
To my recollection, this only happened once in my entire elementary career, but it didn’t
matter. I didn’t have to have the terrible gut feeling in every PE class. I knew what it was like to have
been picked first.
I don’t want anyone to look at this story and only focus on it happening once to me. I want
this to be a story of how we have no idea how the smallest kindness can impact someone in the long run.
Remember to be like Matt and not be afraid to do something small that may mean a lot to someone
else.