I had learned quickly that life doesn't always go the way I want it to, and that's okay. I still plod on.

The video was still playing, although I didn't know why. It seemed as if the able-bodied dancers were mocking me.

The thought of being able to [move my arms] made me want to give up my legs [instead] since I was accustomed to using them. But, I figured that after a few hours of sitting in a wheelchair...I would switch back...in a flash.

Dancing with a spinal cord injury is a challenge like no other, but I aspired to prove to myself that I could still be phenomenal dancer even with an SCI

With determination, it is possible to block out the negative things and enjoy the positive ones, despite the cons. Most importantly, it is possible to dance through everything pernicious.

The stares were annoying, but I knew they didn’t mean any harm. So, every morning, smiling at them became part of my routine, too.

Everyone has adventures in their lives. Some good ones, some bad ones.

This was the first piece to the whole story—the beginning.

I kept wanting to go back on the stage and do it again since I had so much fun and felt so accomplished. It seemed that I had regained a lot of the confidence that I knew I had years before when I performed onstage all the time.

I was eight years old and scared, and had no idea what was going on

I was scared...and did not know what was coming for me next.

Even the littlest things were now a challenge, one I didn't understand.