True Acceptance

“Everyone has felt left out at one time or another . . .”

That was a time when we questioned why life was so hard.  A time when we wondered why someone would not be our friend.  Then that all changed…  We met people that wanted to hang out with us.  We met people that laughed at our jokes and would be there for us.  Most of all, we met people that changed us forever and we felt True Acceptance.

I can relate to this.  In high school I was left out of friendships and relationships due to my disability.  Whenever I tried to make new friends I was always stopped dead in my tracks.  Then, my disability was the big thing that held me back.  It erected a barrier that was almost impossible for me to get through.  I could not hang out at someone’s house because there were steps in the way.  It was hard for me to talk to anyone since I was so used to being ignored and to being let down.  The more I tried the more I seemed to fail, and that led to me becoming shy as time went on.  I did not think that I would ever feel True Acceptance.

But then I thought of an idea . . .

If people won’t easily open up to me, then why don’t I open up to them instead?  I decided to teach others about my disability and about optimism during my senior year of high school.  And I was surprised at the response that I got.  People began to talk to me more and finally connect with me.  Those that I had never talked to before became my friends and trusted me.  People told me that they were going through many of the same things that I was going through.  I was not the only one that felt left out and ignored.  I was not the only one that was shy and I was not the only one who wanted more with my life.  Most of all, I was not alone.

That is something that is hard for anyone to realize.  We see people around us having everything and find it hard to see through that veil we create.  No one has a perfect life full of friends that never get upset and no one is on top of the world.  To sum this concept up, here is a quote by the writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, “We are all inventors, sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate.  The world is all gates; all opportunities.”  Once we realize this one simple concept we can finally feel True Acceptance.  We can find people that share our fears and that share our ideas and become their close friends.  We can share our thoughts about something and know that there is always someone out there that agrees with them.  Most importantly, we can work together and try to get through this game called life.  Well, not just get through it, but learn from it and live it to the fullest.

Now I am in my first year of college. . .

And I’m so glad that I’ve brought this concept of True Acceptance along with me.  The people that I met here are the nicest people that I have ever known.  They always give you a smile and do all they can to help each other out.  These amazing people aren’t, like in high school, striving to get the most friends and striving to be more “popular” than anyone else.  My newest and greatest friends are just trying to form friendships that will last as long as possible since they all know that we are in the same boat together.  Now that I know this myself I can give all that they give me back to them.  Not only do I now feel True Acceptance, my friends feel it too.