It’s not difficult for everyone - and that’s the point

This past weekend, I was at a digital detox summer camp for adults called Camp Reset. It was my second time - my first was in 2022, days after I spoke publicly about my muscle disability for the first time.

In 2022, I had a difficult time - my cabin was on the opposite side of the campground from basically everything, so it was an 8-10 min walk on uneven ground to do anything/go back at night. I hadn’t requested any accommodations, because I hadn’t thought of that scenario - and wasn’t used to thinking about accommodations. I was used to pushing through, because I never used to talk about my disability.

This time, I requested a cabin closer to the activities and on flat ground, which helped. Also in our cabin was a guy in his late 20s, with a visible disability with one of his legs.

I mentioned my disability to him, and while we didn’t get to chat about our experiences much, I’m always excited to encounter another young person with a mobility disability.

I mentioned my 2022 cabin experience to him, and he said something along the lines of how for some people, their number of steps don’t matter to them, and it’s good that the people whose steps do matter, can be given a closer cabin.

Hearing him say that lit a lightbulb in my mind to something I hadn’t realized before - I’d thought because the 2022 cabin was far/difficult for me to go back and forth from, that meant it was difficult for everyone. I’d thought “well this sucks, but it sucks for everyone in a far cabin, so it might as well be me dealing with it too.”

But it’s not as difficult for everyone. Some people can easily do thousands of more steps in a day than I can, and some people love hiking. Some people didn’t have that experience physically wipe them out like it did for me.

It’s so interesting to uncover ways I’ve normalized difficulty to myself without realizing it. I’m still not great at communicating what can make a situation easier or more equitable for me, as opposed to just pushing through difficulty when I don’t have to, but I’m working on it! 🎉✨