Today someone asked me if I had a job outside of coursework. I told them I was disabled. This is the first time I've actually used that phrase. I felt lesser and ashamed. Disabled is not a dirty word. But why did I feel so horrid using it? I hold myself to the highest of standards, more so than anyone else. It takes perhaps a lifetime to accept your whole self as a human who is wonderful just as they are. I am fighting invisible battles in the dark that no one sees. I wage an endless war against my own body, mind, and soul every second of every day. My disabilities may be a monumental part of me, but they absolutely do not define me. Now, if only I could believe that.