My story

-
        My name is Sarah Elgohary . Because our society focuses on   People  appearance not heart The majority of people I meet see my wheelchair and disability first before they see me. The first social interaction with someone or lack thereof is a hazard of spending your life in a wheelchair, or so it seems. I wish that wasn’t case, but I can’t change the way people think, I can only change how I react to it. 
I have Cerebral Palsy. It is a physical disability that was caused by a brain injury at some point during my birth. I am twenty- five and I love my life. No, you didn’t misread that last statement, I do love my life.  Alhumdullah I have a great family and awesome friends, there’s not much more a girl can really ask for. I won’t lie to you and tell you that my life is all rainbows and sunshine as I seem to be, because as you probably guessed by now it’s anything but that. Throughout my twenty-two years, I have learned more than most people my age. I have struggled with my own limitations, laughed until I couldn’t breathe and felt as if I was completely alone.  Yes, I’ve had a myriad of emotions about spending my life in wheelchair, but who wouldn’t? 
        People have often asked me if there was a cure, would I take it. My answer to this question depends on when you ask, 90% of the time it’s no because this disability has made me who I am. It is a part of me, but it doesn’t define me. However, there is other 10% of the time when I would take a cure, more than anything. The physical challenges, the feeling of betrayal by my own body can sometimes be too much for me to carry. When those times come, I think of my family and the majority of friends I have that would help me through it. Although not everyone can fully understand what those moments feel like, the fact that they would do just about anything to put a smile on face is enough for me. However, I do wish that there was someone who had lived through this before to guide me sometimes, but I have learned so much throughout my life.  
        There are a few lessons I’ve learned over the years that I think are really important. 
  1. My wheelchair is a part of my name
There have more times than I can count that I have been referred to as “the wheelchair girl”. Newsflash, I have a name and if you don’t know it, there are other ways to describe me. Do not call me “the wheelchair girl”, the wheelchair is not a part of my body so please, pretty please with a cherry on top, stop making it my whole identity. 
  1. It’s really hard to keep a straight face sometimes when people ask questions.
When people ask me questions, I am an open book. I would rather they ask me then speculate because I have learned that speculation is never good. I have probably been asked every question in the book, ranging from general from general to extremely personal. “How do move around your house?” This is a common one, I move around my house by walking on my knees because I don’t have a ramp. “Can your wheelchair climb steps?” Sadly, it can’t but that would be so cool. I can definitely say it would make my life and the lives of people around me so much easier. My favorite of all time is “Does your wheelchair go on top of you when you sleep?” I failed miserably to keep a straight face for this one. The answer is of course no, wheelchairs have seat belts so I get out and go about my life. 
  1. Most situations are out of my control 
When you have a disability, especially a physical one, you have very little control of situations. Last year I was at school on a Saturday for an event. I was on the second floor when the fire alarm went off. I panicked because I was with other people, but in the same way I was alone. Someone went outside of the room we were in and saw that we really did need to evacuate the building, so people started running. I grabbed my things. I left the room with the mob of people and followed the school’s procedure for events like this, if only everything went that smoothly. 
The public safety office told me to wait so I did, however, a few people who were at the event with me turned back and decided to wait with me. After five minutes, they decided we shouldn’t wait for public safety. One of my classmates introduced me to a friend that was waiting with us, he picked me up and carried me down the stairs. We got a few looks as he exited the building and put me on a bench outside. Somehow they were able to get my wheelchair down too. Public safety came after I was safe and sound with everyone else.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Syria humanitarian Criss

-
  Islamophobia Adds to he Syrian Refugee Crisis  Racism has been reflected in discriminatory laws, practices, and actions (including violence) against racial or ethnic groups throughout the history of the United States. Since the early colonial era, White Americans have generally enjoyed legally or socially-sanctioned privileges and rights that have been denied to members of various ethnic or minority groups. European Americans have enjoyed advantages in matters of citizenship, criminal procedure, education, immigration, land acquisition, and voting rights. Before 1865, most African Americans were enslaved; since the abolition of slavery, they have faced severe restrictions on their political, social, and economic freedoms. Native Americans have suffered genocide, forced removals, and massacres, and they continue to face discrimination. European Americans, Hispanics, Middle Eastern, and Asian Americans, along with Pacific Islanders, have also been the victims of discrimination...
Read more

Free Palestine

-
 your passion intact while improving clarity, structure, and impact: --- # **Stop the Genocide in Palestine** The world must wake up to the genocide happening in Palestine. Israel is not the victim in this conflict—the Palestinian people are suffering daily under occupation, oppression, and relentless attacks. Yet, the media distorts the truth, painting Palestinians as terrorists while portraying Israel as the oppressed. This pattern reflects a larger issue: the media's reluctance to show the suffering of non-white populations and its role in reinforcing racist stereotypes. The media rarely gives full coverage to the struggles of marginalized communities—whether Native Americans, Chinese, Italian immigrants, African Americans, people with disabilities, or women, especially Muslim women. Stories of oppression and resistance from these groups are often ignored, manipulated, or framed in ways that dehumanize them. This systemic bias allows injustices, like the current massacre in Pale...
Read more

Refugee

-
 Educational Inequality for Refugees and Orphans in Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and Sudan: A Sociological Imagination Perspective  Introduction Education is a fundamental human right and a cornerstone of any developed society. Yet, for millions of displaced children around the world—especially refugees and orphans in Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and Sudan—this right is consistently denied. These children face complex, intersecting barriers that prevent them from accessing quality education. Sociologist C. Wright Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination provides a critical framework for understanding how personal hardships—such as a child not attending school—are deeply connected to larger social forces like war, poverty, systemic racism, and political neglect. Thesis: Through the lens of the sociological imagination, we can better understand the educational inequalities faced by refugees and orphans in the Middle East and North Africa by examining how structural factors suc...
Read more