Sean Crosby

Rolling With The Punches

Think back to the early teenage you. Reflect on all those awkward pubescent middle school years. The years of bad haircuts, sullen smiles, braces, and pimple-covered faces. Remember the times of being rebellious, careless, and feeling invincible. Maybe you were faced with the struggles of depression and loneliness from being excluded. Perhaps you felt as though you didn’t quite fit in with your peers simply because you looked different. If that described you, I know exactly how you felt. There were countless times when I felt like an outcast, a freak. I felt as though I didn’t belong, and nobody liked me. It was not easy to ditch that mindset. It took me several years to escape the feeling of not being wanted. I had to overcome more adversity than the average teenager to do so. I was basically like any other teenager, trying to figure out who I was and what to make of the world. There was just one evident difference that separated me from my peers; I was in a wheelchair. My name is Sean Crosby, and this is my story of a time when I faced, overcame, and learned from my experience in “social shock.”