“Hey, you were here last year. Welcome back!” the receptionist said as I handed her my ID. The glass between us was solid, protective—meant to stop a shooter if it ever came to that. I can’t enter a school without identification, which is exactly as it should be. Still, the thought always gives me pause as the buzzer sounds and the door opens.
“How are you?” they all asked once the security measures were behind us.
“I’ve been good.”
Nora peeked her head in.
“I’m so excited!” she said.
“Me too!” I replied.
I was going to speak about the movie Out of My Mind to fourth graders today. Nora is one of my good friends, and this is one of my favorite speeches of the year. We walked to her classroom, which was colorfully decorated and focused on positivity. We quickly caught up.
The fourth-grade class filed in and sat in their assigned seats. Nora introduced me, and I took over.
“Hi boys and girls! I’m so glad to be here! My name is Hannah, and I came just to talk to you today. I’m going to talk to you about my life and my disability—and, of course, about Out of My Mind.
I was born with something called cerebral palsy. I can’t walk or talk because of it. I can walk if someone helps me, but otherwise, I use my wheelchair. Because I have a disability, people come and help me. They help with taking me to the restroom, feeding me, washing my face at bedtime, putting me in bed, dressing me in the morning, and putting on my pajamas at night.
I may not be able to walk or talk, but I’m so happy to say that I graduated from college, have a job, and live a really happy life—even though I’m in a wheelchair. I sound a lot like Melody, right? Melody needs help like me. However, we have different lives, and I’ll talk about that throughout our time together.”
I have given this speech for ten years, and it never gets old. To refresh your memory, Out of My Mind is about a fourth-grade girl who has cerebral palsy and uses a communication device to speak. Sound familiar? It’s very familiar to me.
The kids ask questions at the end of my speech. These were some of them this year:
- Did the kids hurt your feelings in school? I always say it hurt to be ignored by my peers.
- Can you program your own communication device? Yes!
- Do you have friends now? Yes! I have friends who love me for who I am, which is priceless!
Their questions always make me smile—and think. Each year, I’m reminded how much I’ve changed since high school. Thank goodness life gets bigger and better after high school!
Have a Wonderful Month,
Hannah!
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