Would you rather be normal? Or would you rather know who you are?

My name is Jhana, and I am an advocate and writer for people with disabilities. My intention is to publish a blog entry on the first Thursday and Saturday of every week.

The word "normal" is the topic of today's blog post. Also, the reasons why people tend to abuse the term. I have a disability and so consider myself abnormal. But what is normal? When taken out of context, the word "normal" seems unnecessary. I've come up with an idea. If you're interested in my opinions, continue on.

I used to feel angry and resentful because of my disability, and I remember telling my mother that I wished I could be "normal." As she took a glimpse at me, my mother exclaimed, "You are normal!!!!" After that, I firmly stated, "Not if I have a disability." The argument made me feel like a complete idiot. But I went away without uttering another word. 

Later on in life, I met the man I met on Facebook. I didn’t understand why he wanted to be with me. So he questioned me, "What does normal mean?" because, well, I'm not. And there I was feeling incredibly stupid. However, last year I heard an explanation from my cousin when it finally clicked. She claimed that people who don't have no idea what people with disabilities face on a daily basis. Then she put it to me like this: "Would you rather be normal and not understand what a disabled person goes through, or would you rather be disabled and understand what you're going through?" I'd rather be disabled because disabled individuals always understand what they're going through and we don't have to explain our own handicap because we already know it. If you had to choose between fitting in and being yourself, which would you pick? My preference is to just be myself. To be disabled is not to be disqualified from living a full and meaningful life. This is the end of today’s blog. On Saturday, I will write a new blog post.