Other people staring has been an issue of my life since leaving the hospital after my accident happened. I was amazed at how people found it okay to look at me with a sad face or even a look of disdain. At first, it made me not want to go out in public but then I realized that I would be the one missing out on living! I did remember times when I had stared at others when I was walking and I realized that it was more of a curiosity and wondering what their life was like. I tried to keep this in mind, and so it was here that I decided that I wasn’t going to let it bother me and that I would do my best to ignore it. As I did this, I saw my friends who were with me who were the ones most impacted by it. They would get so frustrated saying things like, “Take a picture, it will last longer” and “Haven’t you ever seen anyone in a wheelchair before?” As I giggled at their comments I realized that this was a battle that was never going to end. It was now my life and it was my fault if I let it get to me. Here is a video of Doug and I talking about our experiences with others staring: