I used to think that I was alone in this world. That I was the only person with a particular kind of life.
The only one…
The kind of person who had more than two parents.
The kind of person raised with a wheelchair.
The kind of person raised by teenagers.
The kind of person who was introverted and quiet.
The kind of person with adopted siblings.
The kind of person who had to explain my family members.
I woke up and realized that I am not the only person in any of those categories.
I came across The Wheelchair Mommy and I love her blog. Her kids will get to experience having a parent in a wheelchair, like I did. I can tell that she does not let her wheelchair hinder her life. She embraces it as a part of who she is.I bet her children will grow up and feel the same way about her that I feel about my dad. I am not the only person in this world who was raised by a wheelchair. I love to meet new people who let me know that I am not alone. I am not the only one.
I can only image the number of people in this world raised by teen parents. There is a show about teen moms, it was created to prevent teen pregnancy, however the show depicts that teen parenting does happen. I know that I am not the only one.
Most people I know have more than two parents. Sometimes they use the word step to identify them. I am not the only person in this world who has to describe their family members.
My parents did a talk this year sharing their adoption story and immediately after a high school girl walked up to me and said “my life is just like yours.” It shocked me to know that someone had a life paralleled to mine. She was an only child until she was older and she became a big sister through adoption. She has an understanding that people with adoptive siblings understand. She knows what it is like to play the role of a big sister to people who need so much love in their lives. I am not the only one.
After reading Quiet: the Power of Introverts I know that I am not the only introvert. Some of the post unexpected people are introverts, and introvert does not mean shy or anti-social. After reading the book, I set it down and thought finally someone understands me, I am not the only one.
No matter what you are going through in life or no matter if you think you are the only one that is never the case. You have certain qualities in your life that you can share with someone else. How can you use those unique qualities to reach out to others that have those same unique qualities? You are not alone.
The internet is vast but the more and more we share our lives the more people I find that can relate to me. Sometimes they are people in wheelchairs, and sometimes they are people who grew up quiet, or people who love to write. I love to learn from any person who has experienced the same parts of life that I have. At the end of the day we are all human and that is the simplest, relatable thing we need to communicate with each other. We are not alone.
Keep Rolling On