The summer is almost over. Soon kids, teenagers and adults will be heading to the classroom to advance up the educational ladder by one year, graduate or drop out. While school is a necessary period in our lives to prepare us for the future; another, of equal importance is the relationships we form along the journey. The relationship you have with your classmate is very different from the relationship with your teacher and staff members.
I sometimes look back at when I was in school and think "did I do the socializing thing backwards?" I think about this because I thought of school the way many grown-ups think about a job that they dislike: I showed up, wanted to do my work to the best of my ability and get home to my junk food and cartoons as soon as possible. My mindset towards school had some interesting side effects.
Was I ever bulled? No.
Did I develop a respect for the work that teachers my put in? Yes
Did I make friends? Yes. However, it was very difficult. The majority of students were able-bodied and while there were disabled students in every school who can ever predict whether you will be able to connect with any student disabled or otherwise.
I point this out to remind you that any relationship; whether it is a business, family, or romantic relationship, true connections take time to build. You will have moments when you don't get along; you will have moments when it is better to listen than to speak; you will have moments you want to always remember and moments you'd much rather forget. Most importantly, in every relationship at some point you will experience a moment where a question may as well be floating over your head because you have no idea what to do.
Let me ask you a question, how many people with disabilities did you know during your school years and how well did you know them? Relax this is not a judgment. If you can remember a moment when you held the door open, invited a person with a disability to sit or hang out with you then thank you for trying to be inclusive and polite. If you can't remember a moment, I understand because all sorts of people are accidentally excluded from activities. I bring this up to point out that is possible for anyone disabled or not to feel invisible as they may have a support worker with them frequently, might require extra attention to do medical or disable-related issues. While these challenges can effect anyone and each individual person is unique, I encourage you to try to make a friend, whether they are an athlete, an artist, a hard worker, lazy, anti-social, a social butterfly, someone you see from 9 to 5 or that special someone that makes you feel alive. Work on your relationship whether during the day or night as relationships aren't black and white.
