When I waited for a Magical Genie on Valentine’s Day

When I once waited on Valentine’s Day for a magical genie to break the stigma others said I had in their whispers and in their eyes but the genie never came, I decided I had to do it myself. It was all up to me because there was no genie in a bottle for me. 

Even when I would chat with the few typical, single friends I had at the time, I felt like they couldn’t relate to my situation. They seemed preoccupied with selfies and they were all waiting for a ring on their finger like what Beyonce said in her song, “Single Ladies” “Put A Ring On It.”

Then one day I heard Lady Gaga’s song, “Born This Way” and it made me feel like I had nothing to be ashamed of- nothing at all, especially when it comes down to the way I was born. 

Whether any of my other friends or I were born blind, deaf, non-verbal or with Autism, ADHD, or different gender identities, with crooked feet, or even with no arms or legs, we should not allow anyone else in the world to make us feel as if we are any less or not even normal. Deep down inside, I knew that we each could play a positive role in destigmatizing the stigma others place on us. 

One day I looked in the mirror, slipped on a red dress, and said to myself that there is nothing wrong with me and it’s time that others open their eyes and see that too. I was ready to go out on the town with a couple of my friends and simply empower myself and make the day and the night unforgettable.

I realized that no good recipe has all the same ingredients; therefore inclusiveness and kindness only enrich our lives. 

That’s the day I said to myself, I am not the one with any stigma on my back or any stigma on my life and the best thing that everyone in the world can do is begin to destigmatize differently-abled people like me or people with different gender identities and never forget that we are all in this life together.

#LadyGaga, #NyleDiMarco,#PaulaAbdul,#QueenLatifah,#HollyRobinsonPeete,

#TaylorSwift,#Beyonce,#RunwayOfDreams,#HowToDanceInOhio

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