The stares were annoying, but I knew they didn’t mean any harm. So, every morning, smiling at them became part of my routine, too.

I was eight years old and scared, and had no idea what was going on

Knowing that only minutes earlier I had walked to the car, my mom helped me out and stood me up in the parking lot. My legs collapsed. I could still move them, but I couldn’t walk.

This was the first piece to the whole story—the beginning.

I had learned quickly that life doesn't always go the way I want it to, and that's okay. I still plod on.

The video was still playing, although I didn't know why. It seemed as if the able-bodied dancers were mocking me.

Dancing with a spinal cord injury is a challenge like no other, but I aspired to prove to myself that I could still be phenomenal dancer even with an SCI

I kept wanting to go back on the stage and do it again since I had so much fun and felt so accomplished. It seemed that I had regained a lot of the confidence that I knew I had years before when I performed onstage all the time.

Everyone has adventures in their lives. Some good ones, some bad ones.