"You're a rockstar"

The teacher told me this in the middle of a yoga class last week. Just days after seeing Humans of New York's post that I shared last week, the same yoga teacher stopped me after the same class and told me I was "inspiring." I immediately recalled the picture and the woman calling it "patronizing" and I almost laughed. I didn't laugh! I smiled and told the guy I really appreciated his words, thanked him for the class, and left. The whole drive home I tried to figure out how I felt about it. My immediate reaction was not that I felt patronized. It was comforting to know that my hard work was recognized. But I also completely agreed with the woman on Humans of New York who said "I'm not living a wonderful life for a disabled person. I'm living a wonderful life, period." I think this is a very important message of which we need to constantly remind ourselves. People tell us we are "rock stars" and we are "wonderful" and we are "inspiring," but we are all of these things even disregarding our disabilities. It goes back to what I know I've talked about before which is to not be defined by your injury. You are so much more than your disability. I am a strong yogi and the woman on Humans of New York is compassionate, intelligent, beautiful. We are all of this and more because of who we are on the inside not because of what people see on the outside. You are allowed to feel good when someone calls you a rockstar for modifying all the yoga poses for your shoulder and you are allowed to be happy when someone tells you that you are inspiring. But you are also allowed to not feel so good and to thank them kindly and dismiss it entirely. We are all different and we cannot be categorized. 

Humans of New York

If you haven't heard of Humans of New York, I promise it is worth checking out. It is a Facebook page (also transferred to other social media like Instagram) run by a photographer in New York. He takes pictures of strangers throughout the city and talks to them to get a quote that brings light to a side of them they may not always share or others don't always see. He then posts the photo paired with the quote as the caption. This week I found one quite relevant and relatable :

Never "The Best"

It seems like no matter what we do, we are never the best. Someone is always better at whatever we try. Yesterday's world record or gold medal is a memory tomorrow and it feels as if we are always working only to end up good instead of great. Brachial plexus injury or not, we are constantly comparing ourselves to others and usually finding a reason they must be above us. But it's all ridiculous. So I'm not the best soccer player or the smartest student or the most compassionate friend or the most angelic daughter but I know that I am a good soccer player, an intelligent person, a caring friend, and a nice daughter. My value doesn't have to rest on its relation to others'. I'm not the best but as long as I am striving to be my best, isn't that all that matters? I was born to do something entirely different than everyone else here. You were too. So how can we compare ourselves to them?

"Don't compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to the person you were yesterday."

I think that is a much better way to go about it :)

P.S. Sorry for the lack of posts the past couple weeks, I was using the time to gather new thoughts and ideas for this blog! But I am back :)