Everyday we live our lives according to paradigms created through life experience. So when I was out to dinner with a friend the other night it didn’t surprise me when she said playfully, “I’m going to kick your chair! I’d slap you, but you wouldn’t feel it.” Neither part surprised me: not that she wanted to smack me, nor that she didn’t realize I would, in fact, feel it if she actually did. I have a tendency to speak without thinking (so I probably deserved the slap). That’s another disease I have along with sarcasm, but that’s neither here nor there.

My point is that when she said I wouldn’t feel a slap she was recalling knowledge she had acquired in the past to make an inference about the future. It’s not ignorant; it’s human nature. The lesson to be learned from that conversation and this brand as a whole is that there are many different types of disabilities, each affecting individuals in unique ways, so we cannot make assumptions based on appearance. I took the opportunity to tell her a little bit about my disability so she could learn a little more about me. Then she went on to ask me 21 questions, which I loved because I respect when people acknowledge what they know and don’t know about disability. That’s why my life is basically an open book. Limited exposure to people with disabilities often leads to misconceptions, so I share my story as well as others’ through this site. Anything man made can be broken by man, including social barriers. I just thank Baby Jesus she didn’t slap me.