When friends at school, or adults asked me if I was planning on going to college, I said yes. Going to college is something that many people want to do because they feel like it will help them onto the next stage of their life! However, it can be very expensive, that is why finding out some fundraising ideas for college can be of huge benefit to them and their education. That was the easy question; it was always the follow up question of, “what do you want to be when you’re older?” that always left my answer to just a shrug of the shoulders. That’s a tough question to have a clear answer for. I knew that going to college in this modern time was a necessity, but a lifelong career? With all of the possibilities, and decisions, it made me shudder. How will I find the right job for me? I knew if I were to go to college, I needed a plan. I couldn’t afford to waste precious money on being indecisive with my future. So, I started to brainstorm. I’ve always enjoyed being around kids. My dad is also a physical therapist, so I felt most familiar with the medical field. I figured I could be a pediatric surgeon. I felt positive that this was what I wanted to do, until recently, when my true passion dawned on me.
Every high school has a majority of students like myself. In normal classes, with normal schedules, and around “normal” people. Did you ever notice the group of kids who seemed “different”? I finally did. They`re the students in different classes, with different schedules,and around a small group of “different” people like themselves. I know it`s normal for people to stay away from things that are different. People don’t want to draw attention to themselves or be judged. I find that irritating. After all of this time in high school and I finally noticed the Special-Ed students.
I was in the crowded cafeteria trying to study world history. Exasperated by all of the laughing and howling jumbling my thoughts, I put the cards down and looked up. Amongst a sea of obnoxious kids, there was a lunch table with 4 kids to themselves. As a guy from a table down from them walked past, one of the kids at the table brought his hand up in a high five gesture. To my dismay, the kid kept on walking, brushing past the high five like he didn’t even see the gesture. How could someone be so rude? I gritted my teeth. I had a feeling that wasn’t the only time that kid was ignored. What was so different about those kids that was so bad? I couldn’t handle it. I got up and walked towards their table. I put my tray of soup down on the table and took a seat.
From that moment on my life has become better. The kids at the table are Special Ed kids. Brian (with an “I”, not a “Y” he told me), Sam (loves a high five that stings the hand), Sammy (don’t call him Sam!), and Chelsea (who constantly reminds me I’m cute). These four kids whom everyone believes to be so different from themselves, aren’t that different at all. Chelsea wants the cutest outfits like any other girl. She also has the same crushes on the same guys other girls in high school have crushes on. Bryan`s grades are important to him, and like every other senior on Earth, he`s nervous about college. Sammy, like a lot of other kids, likes wrestling. He`s faithful to watching “Monday Night RAW Smack Down” on T.V. every week, and even joined the school`s wrestling team. Sam likes big, lifted trucks and slick, fast cars. He says he`s a Chevy kind of guy. These kids are like me, and everyone else, but because they look different, talk and move differently, they are judged and shoved into the outcast of society. Nobody should be prejudiced like that. Throughout history people have been persecuted and pushed aside for being different, and for a part of my life I was like everyone else. If anything that history has shown us, hasn’t it taught us that we are all not so different after all? Were the Jews really that much different than other sanctions of Christianity? And, why is different even a bad thing? Being different is what has built colorful, rich cultures that we are able to experience. America is founded on being a country of equal differences. So the Special Ed kids shouldn’t have to feel self-conscious about how they walk and move.
Since that day I am a very active member of the Partner`s Club, and am currently in the Special Olympics State Basketball Team with Sam and Sammy. I now know I want to spend my life helping these kids feel confident by helping improve their physical motions. By becoming an occupational therapist, I will be able to help improve special needs kids` ability to strengthen their motor skills and coordination. If they happen to be overshadowed by their physical challenges like vision loss, ear loss, etc., I can try to help them overcome those difficulties and lead a normal life. Over the years, science has definitely progressed to greater heights. If you take the example of someone with a hearing impairment, you can see how modern medicine has allowed them access to hearing aids (like oticon hearing aids, for example) that they can use and lead a life of normalcy. And, this is exactly what I wish to achieve. By helping the kids to have an increasingly better function of everyday movements, people will be able to see them for who they really are, and the kids won`t have to feel like they are inferior to other people, because they aren’t. They are gifted and have thoughts and feelings just like every one of us.
Becoming an occupational therapist is why I wish to go to college. I plan on getting a major in biology, and a minor in business at Henderson State University. From there I`ll get into occupational therapy school at UCA. Once I graduate, I can partner with my dad in his physical therapy business, and focus on mentally/physically challenged patients. On the side, I can get contracts with local schools to work with their Special-Ed kids. Every dollar towards my education will be a blessing. With two younger sisters preparing for college soon, my parents can`t afford to pay for my education. There are so many costs involved in sending your children to college, so it’s understandable that my parents are struggling, especially since both of my sisters are going to college. They have to pay for additional costs, such as moving vans and they have to rent moving crates at phs Teacrate to make sure none of their items get damaged in the move. Those are other costs that some people might not think of, and they all add up. However, it will be worth it once they’ve settled in and start working towards their dreams! I’m having to rely on Henderson`s academic scholarships and generous businesses like Newton Pens to help ease the high price of undergraduate education. Having my tuition paid for would take off so much stress, and help allow me to focus on reaching my main goal, helping special needs kids.