There is an old saying that says, "if you get handed lemons you have to turn them into lemonade." This month I have truly been put to the test to see if I can turn my lemons into lemonade in more ways than one. For several weeks now I have had an ongoing cough that the doctors aren't sure what is causing it; but when I think about it even though it has been frustrating beyond belief I think it has been nice because it has reminded me that it is ok to slow down once in a while. Then a few weeks after I had just gotten the cough it was time for orientation to NEIU. And despite my cough I was smiling from ear to ear with excitement. I had done what I needed to do, signed up for classes, gone to speak with an Academic Advisor and the Accessibility office; I was all prepared, or so I thought. At the end of the orientation my mom said, "I could have heard them wrong, but I think you need a certain amount of math courses." At this point I was like thinking to myself "no mom! I already got that under control," but I thought I better double check. So about a week later I made an appointment with the head of the Academic Dept. and sure enough I was not only required to take math classes but I was short 1 Fine Arts course and 3 science courses; 1 being a lab- which is extremely hard for me due to my visual limitations. For several days, I was like "what am I going to do?!" This has always been my dream and now I could not see it coming true. However, later that week after lots of tears, hugs and frustration- I met with my Voc Rehab Counselor and I am going to continue to pursue my career in the field of Human Services. I have decided to take a semester off and work by spreading the message of person centered planning and community living and choices for people with developmental disabilities. I have come to the realization that I will probably not be able to get my Bachelor's degree due to my limitations, but I am not letting that stop me when it comes to learning. In the spring I plan to go to NEIU or Oakton to take at least 1 Communications and/or Social Work class to better my communication and people skills. So I can speak to lots of groups of people and spread the message of freedom and independent living despite having a disability.
I would like to thank Rebecca and Lindsy for helping me while Mina was in Mexico. I hope she had a great time and I look forward to seeing her again. Without the people that help me I would not have been able to continue my independent life even in the past 2 weeks, so thank you again.
As a result of me having this cough I have limitations of what I can eat and drink. Lemonade is one of them, so i am not asking for a miracle just for all of you to sit back and have a nice cold glass of lemonade for me. Thanks! Love you all!
-Jessi
P.S. Another way I was able to make my lemonade happen was I had a friend from my Birthright Trip named Marva come over to play games with Lindsy and me. We had a great time and this was especially memorable because I did not know if I would ever see her again. I love the time we spent together and I will always remember it.
