Week 7: Distinguished People

As an AAPD intern on the Hill, I am privileged with the opportunity to meet and speak with many distinguished individuals in their respective fields. At the past social event, the other interns and I were given advice from three very distinguished individuals, and it made me think about the career I'd take and the advice I'd like to be able to give when, and if, I have done so well to be in a position like theirs to give advice. From whatever distance into the future I look back from, I want to be able to feel confident that I lived and worked according to my principles and values. I want to become a leader in my field by working as hard as I possibly can to be a reliable and dependable resource. Coming from a hard working family and being raised to believe that I can achieve whatever it is that I want to achieve, I have come to view my place in the disability community as a platform to show that a person's will and work-ethic will topple any obstacles he/she might face. I will not allow my disability to corner me into one segment of society, but I will use it as a launching pad to educate and demonstrate unto others how the disabled community is a vital resource. This is how stereotypes are changed. Most of all, I want to live a life and have a career that I can be proud of. I want to be distinguished.