Having Mild CP

I could stir up some controversy with this topic, but the fact of the matter is that I have MILD Cerebral Palsy. Some with more severe CP, may very well hate me for the fact that in most cases, I can usually hide my CP past introductions and the like. In fact, I have seen tweets from those with CP criticizing and hating on authors also with CP. My main question  is why? I don't hate on anyone because their disability is permanently visible. I was raised that was wrong. Why do you with severe CP, let your jealousy overwhelm you? We should be united, raise awareness, that everyone with CP, has differing experiences, despite the common factors that categorize us as having CP in the first place. Luckily, I have found supportive groups of friends, family, and strangers via twitter/#CPChatNow, that don't criticize me for having mild CP. They instead embrace this fact, and are supportive & accepting.

Another fact of the matter is that you should never let your jealousy consume you. It's just not healthy in the first place, you also miss out on great things as you are too busy being jealous. All people have different life experiences, and you are missing out by not finding out what they are. I get that it's frustrating not to be able to fool the untrained eye into thinking you're able-bodied, but it's also frustrating having your disability minimized, or worse be accused of faking once exposing your disability. Mild or severe CP, we all need to support one another, not verbally attack each other.

I know my able-bodied friends are probably wondering what I'm talking about, but this struggle is real. There are out those with severe CP that criticize us mild CP-ers for being able to hide our CP for any length of time. The truth is we are not minimizing CP as a disability, simply I do not want to be judged as my disability alone upon first impression, and I refuse to be criticized for doing so. People need to know ME,  who just so happens to have a disability. Not as the girl with a disability. That is not how I want to be remembered. Something to keep in mind, those with severe CP, I can only assume, do not want to be remembered as only their disability as well, but often are. No, it's not fair, but should not be a cause for hatred of any degree among us all. It's a perception we with CP all need to unite to change. This brings me to, who will unite to change the perception? The perception of a person with a disability as being ONLY their respective disability, when in reality we are so much more. Perception should be the reality of it all. It's only through convincing the able-bodied crowd of this, not just my friends and family, that all with a disability will be seen as people first. The only way to do this is to stop the bickering among ourselves and start living our respective versions of a "normal" life, if there is such a thing...

Don't forget, you can always follow me on twitter- @LindsMRoach !