Community Day

This week at my school we had something called Community Day. My school is known for being a non-traditional high school and a very accepting community and recently many people have complained that that atmosphere is disappearing. Because of this, they fought to bring back Community Day which they've had at my school years ago. It's a day to reflect on the special community our school has and to recognize its issues that we need to work to resolve. We have a couple assemblies and we do activities with one of our classes. The activities really remind you that you're not alone in whatever you're struggling with and that you have a lot in common with people you never thought you would. We did an activity called "Cross the Line" which is in Freedom Writers if anyone's seen that movie or read the book. There's a line of duct tape across the classroom and there's a facilitator that reads a statement and if the statement applies to you, you cross over to the other side of the line. Then everyone goes back to the same side of the line and a new statement is read and so on. With many of the statements, it's extremely surprising how many people cross the line, with or without you. For me, it was a huge reminder that everyone has skeletons in their closets and that it can be really hard to show them to people but most are braver than you think and will open up. It shocked me because I've never been one to open up to people. I was really proud of everyone in my class during that activity as I watched people cross over for some painful things, even if they were alone at first (not one statement was read where only one person crossed over). Community Day overall just reminded me that no one's alone. You'd be surprised how many people are going through something similar or feel something similar that you're feeling right now. If your brachial plexus injury is your struggle, that's hard to believe because the world isn't exactly full of us. But as unfortunate as it is, something else I learned on Community Day is how few people are happy with their bodies or the way they look or their abilities. Though people might not know exactly what it's like living with a brachial plexus injury, most people know what it feels like to feel inadequate or different or unable to do something that someone else can. So remember that people are always there for you and will understand. And remember to be there for other people as well. Your advice or hug or listening ear could mean the world to someone and you'd be surprised how willing people are to open up to you if you show them you're willing to listen. It's a two-way street.