Normalcy

     Our birth is contingent. We didn’t choose to be a girl or boy. Sometimes, we consider our life as superfluous because when you think about it, you really have no control over the access of your father’s sperms (but congratulations to you! You won 1st place!)-- to your mother’s egg cell, nor you didn’t decide on what physical characteristics you will have. So if it was another sperm (not you) had entered, a totally life had existed and probably taken your place in this world. And in the other way around, there’s no use on trying to blame the genetic shuffling of the genes of your parents for what you look like today. But no matter what arrangement a person’s shape, health, and physical appearance may be, a boy who suffers  blindness, or a girl who suffers certain cognitive delay will still be human: a human who also needs loving, caring, and protection.

      Everyone wants to have a child someday. I’m thinking about having a baby (on the future, not today) and teach him (I’m wishing for a he) to play guitar at the age of five. Sure, they can be hard to handle but it is a big challenge for everyone. Having a child feels like having someone an extension of yourself. They can be our sweetest balms, our greatest source of bliss, and our greatest gift. However, there is also tension that can happen when we plan to have a child. There are times we worry much on our baby’s condition. Not knowing what will the baby look like (unless you go have a 3D ultrasound), or thinking of his/her cognitive ability, and other health problems give a feeling of nervousness and anxiety to parents. Sometimes, we can’t help not to think and so it becomes inevitable to some.

     There are parents whose child suffers from certain disability like autism, cognitive disorders, or

has any chromosomal aberrations like Down syndrome, Patau syndrome, etc. If we try to cogitate about the emotions of the parents, what do they really feel about their children as well as what do they feel about themselves? Probably, some parents carry pain and pity for their offspring, and they eventually try to exert a great forbearance and understanding towards their child. Perhaps, some could accept it rather as a blessing especially to those who carry special talents despite their impairments. And is there any feeling of shame or being outcast seeing other families who do not burden the weight of having children who need special attentions? Putting ourselves in their shoes, there is also concern that our child might be victims of bullying and subjects of insults. We can arrive in an instant precognition that they’ll be having difficult time adjusting in different environment like in schools, and how they will take actions turning the social wheels. Just in case I end up having a child with a handicap, perhaps, the most magnificent to do is to immerse him in a different number of social spheres, including children in a perfect condition, and those who also endures disabilities; making the child feel belong and accepted.

      There are no boundaries in their potentials. Disabilities shall not impede their way into reaching their dreams. There as much plethora of possibilities that awaits them as well as people who are not differently abled. There are no divisions between normal and abnormal. We are solely humans, from our dad’s sperm and mom’s egg then to zygote to fetus to human; nothing more, only human.