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<p>It was coming to the end of summer and Jenise’s friend Kim* had invited her out for dinner at Chilitos. It was all she could think about, she was excited - probably a little too much. To be honest, it wasn’t every day that she was invited to hang out with her friends. </p>
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<p>Jenise Reece is a 20-year-old living with mild cerebral palsy and in her eyes, she is one of an unknown number of Jamaicans who are treated differently because of having a disability. </p>
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<p>CP as her condition is often called, is defined by the <em>Cerebral Palsy Organization of Jamaica</em> as any one of several neurological disorders that appears in a person’s infancy or early childhood. It permanently affects body movement and muscle coordination but doesn’t get worse over time. </p>
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<p>CP is a physical condition, caused when there is abnormal development of the brain. This abnormal development then affects the motor area of the brain that directs muscle movement.   </p>
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<p>Yet, despite having CP,  Reece tries to live a normal life.  Just like any other child, Reece attended Primary and Secondary Schools. She has never thought of herself as being different and as such, she decided to pursue a degree in Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC); and now, in her second year at The University of the West Indies, Reece is still defying the odds.</p>
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<p>After a little drive from Portmore, where Reece lives, she arrived in Half Way Tree. However, there was now a slight problem. The student buses she took during the school year were unavailable. This only meant one thing - she would have to do the one thing she hated doing the most. She would have to take a taxi. </p>
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<p>The thought of that made her so anxious and the thought of the outcome made her worry. For Reece and many other’s with Cerebral Palsy, there are side effects such as one-foot lagging behind the other, lack of muscle coordination, anxiety and crossed eyes. The first made it difficult for Reece to sit in or get out of a car and what often heightened the pressure was the impatience of the taxi drivers. Today was different though because this time she had gotten into the taxi without a fuss.</p>
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<p>She was relieved, no excited, or maybe a mixture of both. Everything was going right. Nothing could spoil the day. </p>
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<p>The drive to the University’s back gate was not a long one and when she arrived all she could think about was how she would safely get out of the taxi.</p>
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<p>She was seated at the extreme left of the car and could get out through that door. That seemed like the safer option but there was another problem. Her left side was her weaker side and if she proceeded to use that side it would have been a long and painful exit. So, right door it was. The right door was towards the road, making this a very bad idea. However, she took a deep breath and without further thinking, she opened.</p>
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<p>What happened next was scary, humiliating and very sad. It wasn’t new though. It was the truth through her eyes of how people with disabilities, especially those without a physical marker, were treated.</p>
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<p>Without giving a warning the taxi driver blurted at her. His words were like a sword, cutting deep. </p>
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<p>Seconds later she was shouting back at him. He threw expletives at her, forcing tears to well up in her eyes. His ability to not observe did not leave with him and she stood there, attracting the eyes of all who passed by. </p>
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<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>She thought as everyone else did...had burning desires to fulfil hopes and dreams. She wasn’t at all different.</p></blockquote>
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<p>Reece explained that she could recall many other instances on and off the University’s campus that people would hiss or murmur rude comments at her. The truth is they didn’t know something was wrong because they couldn’t see it. Sometimes they assumed that she was just too slow and those who realized something was wrong often thought of her as being different. </p>
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<p>She thought as everyone else did, she got good grades, participated in co-curricular activities and had burning desires to fulfil hopes and dreams. She wasn’t at all different.</p>
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<p>She has dreams of becoming a Jane of the IMC trade. She wants to advocate for those with disabilities and become a mentor for those who just aren’t as strong as she is.  She wants to travel the Spanish-speaking world to build her fluency in Spanish. She wants to make a positive impact on the world. She wants to be seen as normal because she, like many others, are no different.</p>
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<p>She wiped her tears and told herself something she believed.</p>
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<p>“Si que puedo” she said “si que puedo”. This means ‘yes I can’.</p>
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