By Tess Gregorek, PRC-Saltillo Blogger
Have you ever felt unique? Not different, unique! There is a difference. Different is a point or way in which people or things are not the same. On the other hand, unique is being the only one of its kind, unlike anything else. Here’s a time where I felt unique!
Last summer, I went to camp for kids and teenagers with special needs for a week in July. It was from 9AM to 4 PM at a local church. I was nervous to go because I had to be in a group of teens who needed lots of support. While I needed physical help, everyone else in my group needed help because they were intellectually challenged. I had fun and I got to know some really cool counselors. I’m friends with a few on Snapchat now. At camp, we did activities like crafts, cooking, and yoga. We also went on field trips to Chick-fil-A, a swimming pool, and to the movies. During an activity called job skills, while everyone else worked on other tasks where they used their hands, I watched a tutorial on QuickBooks. I recently got a part time accounting job and I needed to prepare for that.
I felt unique, because although both the campers and I have special needs, I was the only one there who didn’t have an intellectual disability. Plus, I was the only one in my group who was physically challenged. The others could use their hands and do activities that I couldn’t do. I mostly had feelings of disappointment because I couldn’t become friends with them, because they couldn’t keep a conversation, so I couldn’t connect with them. I felt like I was the only banana in a room full of oranges!
Someday, I hope to go back to that camp, but I hope other teens will signup who are like me: only physically disabled. I want to help create opportunities for other teens like me to get involved in activities like this because there are not many camp opportunities for kids who are only physically challenged.
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