Welcome to a special six-part series featuring Megan Bailey. Megan speaks openly from her perspective as a young woman living with a lifelong disability. In her early years, she received therapy services through Rainbows United.
Today, she’s a college graduate, a professional, and an advocate—ready to share her journey.
Special thanks to Brandon Paulseen, host of the ICT Podcast, who sat down with Megan to hear her story—you can listen in here.
Making new friends has always been a challenge for me because of my disability. I have very few friends who are my age. Sometimes I feel very lonely and sad because I wish I had more friends. I made some friends throughout my career at Wichita State, and I hope to meet new people and make new friends when I venture out into the world at my new job, wherever that may be.
I think part of the reason I have difficulty making friends is because of my disability. I know that people see me with my canes, and they are maybe thinking: What happened to her legs? Or, how come she has canes? I think sometimes people don’t hang out with me because I walk so much slower and they don’t want to slow down to my pace. This sometimes makes me feel emotional, uncomfortable, and sad. It is hard to share with others that I have had surgery and have a disability, so I keep it inside.
I was talking to one of my friends recently about what it’s like living with a disability. We have been friends since middle school. He was born with CP as well. When I told him I was writing blogs about living with a disability, he understood how hard it was because we were both born with the same condition. It was nice to hear another person’s perspective on what it is like to live with CP. Even though we both have the same disability, it is shown in different ways. I am more mobile and can get around places with my canes. However, my friend can’t leave the house without his wheelchair.
It takes a lot of courage and bravery for me to make new friends. Because I was born with a hearing loss and CP, I am scared and worried about what people will think of me. When I hang out with my girlfriends, sometimes I forget about my disability. I feel better when I am not alone, and I know my friends are there to support me. When I was on campus, we would get together and eat lunch or meet in between classes to chat. Now, I talk to my friends on the phone or text them almost every day about “stuff.” I enjoy going out to eat and going to the movies with my friends.