I have been doing some presentations the past month to raise money for my trip to Yosemite next fall and in the process have had to think about the things I have done in my life and how I got to where I am at this moment. I realize it has all happened by saying yes to opportunities that are presented even if there is uncertainty.
I suppose it really started when I met Bob Dyer my first day of junior high school. His first words to me were “Can you do twenty push-ups in your wheelchair?”. Of course, I wanted to impress the teacher so I said: ” I can do forty”. I managed to do them but my arms were on fire after. I didn’t let him know that though. He never expected anything less of me after that moment and that set my life on a path of being challenged and welcoming challenge. I guess you could say I am happier and more alive when I am facing a challenge. It is like an energy boost comes over me when I am faced with a challenge and I push myself to overcome whatever I am facing. He also proposed other challenges over my time in school and beyond school as we became friends rather than pupil and teacher. He suggested I try wheelchair racing, skiing, and basketball. I said yes to each challenge and it gave me a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction each time.
Fast forward to about 5 years ago and I was asked if I would like to attend a camp for disabled athletes that was organized by Maine Adaptive Sports and Recreation. I said yes then too and got to spend a week with one of my childhood heroes being inspired to push myself to new boundaries and awakening a new found sense of adventure.
I have been saying yes to all opportunities that are presented ever since and have been able to have some of the most exhilarating and profound experiences of my life. I have been climbing in the gunks in New York and Yosemite National Park and am headed back this fall. I am preparing to go parasailing in my wheelchair. I have nearly earned a pilots license and will finish when the money is there to do so. I have been skiing in Alaska. I will be spending the entire summer in Palo Alto, CA learning from some of the greatest minds in the computer technologies industry and gaining valuable experience that will undoubtedly influence my future career in computer science. All of these things only happened because I said yes to an opportunity given.
I would encourage you to set aside your fears and Just Say Yes! You never know what amazing thing might happen just with that one little word. I can guarantee you will know what will happen if you don’t say it though. Nothing happens if you don’t try. Don’t over think it and Just Say Yes!
