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Strength is seeing beauty in one's scares, and growing with them

One 11-year-old girl, sick of being defined by the wheelchair she used, had a dream that she would not let anyone take away from her. It wasn't much to everyone else but it became her everything. After 10 years of endless efforts to reach her dream-she's still here to

say-"I'm gonna hold on 'cause what I believe in is so strong, no matter how long no one can tell me I'm wrong, I ain't goin' down. My name is Misty Nichols, and this is my story."

My first mistake was making an early entrance. Three months too early, and the price was steep. I am bound to a damn wheelchair because I was born so early. Cerebral Palsy, it isn't even a dignified phrase, is it? Oh, don't get me started! So, I'm stuck most of each day in a wheelchair. I have however, maintained a 4.0 GPA in advanced classes while in school. Simply put: wheelchair does not equal incompetent. File that away for future reference.

When I was young I never really had to face people who were blinded by my wheelchair. None of my friends ever said it was too dangerous for me to do anything they did. I guess wisdom fails here because the older I get the more I hear the words, “You can't.”

I wasn't grounded, ever, and I can physically do almost anything I put my mind to, but people are always so very afraid for me. Even though I have the same skin and bones that are just as strong as anyone else's it's nearly impossible to find an able bodied adult who can see past even their most well intentioned fear. So, most people won't let me try anything.

The night I'd had enough restrictions I was only eleven years old....