Feeling 22!
Not a lot going on at the moment. Jk ;)
"Some fairy tales are true. Most other stories we make up to help us deal with real life. It all depends on your point of view." - Brittany Murphy (Uptown Girls)
It's the eve of my 22nd birthday and that means another year is in the books. 22 years ago today my family had no idea what was to come in the morning at 8:03 a.m. the next day. They knew I was a girl, had my name picked out, and my nursery was yellow and pink. They were ready. But life is full of surprises. 22 years ago the technology was not like it is now, obviously. They didn't notice in the ultrasounds that my long bones were short. When I was born the nurses and doctors had to take me away and run test after test until they diagnosed me with #achondroplasia. The gene for achondroplasia wasn't even discovered until a year later. The first few years of my life were a whirlwind. I had to sleep hooked to a machine that monitored my breathing, I had to wear a back brace due to the curvature in my spine (and I hated that thing with a burning passion), I had over 11 sets of ear tubes, MRI's regularly, so on and so on. It was not your average life. *Fun fact: I was the biggest baby out of me, my brother, and sister but the smallest child*
I'm going to be blatant and say yes, I do wish I had been born without achondroplasia–this is where some people well get pissed at me and say, 'you have a low self esteem. you need to learn to love yourself.'–I always just roll my eyes and say 'yeah, ok. because you know me more than I know myself.' Whatever. But that's just how I feel.
However, I don't take back for a second the life that I've had and am currently living. I am so beyond grateful for being able to share my life with the world today. I'm glad that I have been able to open doors for others in my situation or similar. Whether or not they choose to go down the same path I did or go down another I'm happy to know that it's not 22 years ago and that there is more literature and resources today. Yes there will be challenges but I can assure you it will all be okay. <3
My life is definitely not a fairytale. But I am making up my story as I go through life and the view is great. :)
I can not thank each and every one of you enough for all the love and support you have given me the past five years and to those who have known me longer, Thank you for putting up with me ;)
So as I celebrate year 22 of my life, I am still learning new things and overcoming challenges that any other 22 year old faces.
and yes, I'm feeling 22.
Also–stick around. I have a feeling this will be a great year ;)
