able or unable

Society has formed an environment where disabled people need to prove themselves more than ever. Today in a class discussion we talked about an article that was about disabled people in wheelchairs playing rugby. As we know, rugby is a physical contact sport and can easily lead to injury. One of my peers mentioned that these people in wheelchairs are jumping from one stereotype of being “crippled” to the next stereotype “masculine/macho”. I wonder if the disabled people truly wanted to take up rugby because they truly like the sport or if they were trying to prove a point to society. I can never understand how it feels to not be able to use my legs on an everyday basis but I have torn a ligament in my elbow once and was not able to use it for a month. I injured my right arm and I need to use that arm in order to write, cheerlead, or do makeup because I am right handed. During the month that I was unable to use my right arm, I felt sad and lost about who I was. I feel like I defined myself in a way by my physical capabilities. In my head I saw myself as a cheerleader or a makeup artist; I would explain who I was through things I did physically. I felt useless because I was unable to partake in my everyday normal activities and it really hurt my feelings. I am thankful for being physically healthy and I feel like if I were unable to use my body like everyone else I would want to prove a point as well to society in terms of being able to still be athletic and active. The article we talked about was very interesting and was able to help me try and understand the point of view of people who are unable to do certain things physically.