It changed my thinking a lot to realize that the fundamentals of how we live our lives are no different whether we have a disability or not."
This is a sentence from a student's written comment.
This opinion made me think about how people live their lives by being caught up in how they look different from others.
Some people say, "Disability is individuality." I find this phrase disgusting.
That I have muscular dystrophy, an incurable disease that causes gradual loss of muscle strength throughout my body, and that I ride in a large electric wheelchair
He needs a ventilator 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to stay alive.
He cannot eat by mouth, so he has a tube connected to his stomach to inject nutrition through a gastric tube.
All of this is a raw reality, but it is nothing more than a physical condition.
It's just a physical condition.
One of the students who listened to my talk expressed this in their written comments
"It's not the physical condition that makes you unique, it's the life history you've built up over the years that makes you unique.
It's what you do with that disability that makes it unique."
I have been telling people that the difference in how they live with their physical conditions is what makes them unique.
When expressed in different words, they change into various ways of saying things.
Once again, I cannot help but feel the depth of the power of words.
Once you get to know a person deeply, all the stereotypes you had before are instantly blown away.
I believe that being able to encounter such a moment is the greatest asset that can be given to the one who speaks.
When I was younger, it was impossible for me to speak confidently to others.
I was too preoccupied to know what I wanted to do with myself.
I had no perspective on how I wanted to live in the future.
I am in a wheelchair and I can move around on my own, and I can go wherever I want to go.
I discovered soccer, which can be played with a powerchair, and the meaning of life became clear to me.
However, things didn't go as planned.
I was so angry at the stagnant Japanese society that I decided to leave Japan to study in the U.S. and did it.
Encountering the possibility of being different from others, I have been running my own path as fast as I can with all my heart and soul.
Through various experiences, I became stronger and my view of the world changed 180 degrees.
My sensitivity is sharpened by seeing and feeling things from various angles
When our feelings change, our actions change
Looking back now, I feel a sense of anger toward myself and toward Japanese society, which is timid about unprecedented things.
All of this has become my driving force, and I have lived my life to this day with the energy in my body.
I am convinced that the more negative the situation is, the more unlimited the possibilities are when it is turned into a positive one.
The source of all this power is you, the person who met me and had a great influence on me.
・・・・Excitement and uplifting feelings go through my whole body.
I want you to confront me in the flesh and experience the words I release with all my might.
The sound of the ventilator bowing echoes through the air
The impact of the unknown world turning real・・・・