Poems

My Message to " Different" Kids Everywhere!

Growing up, being a kid, and surviving your childhood years is one of the hardest parts of a persons life. Add to the equation being diagnosed with a rare medical condition when your 16 years old and that can lead to the complete upheaval of life, as you know it.

It's so easy, too easy; to completely give up and think that your life has become too much to handle. But that won't get you very far on the road of life. If I had to say I have learned ONE thing in the past few years, it would be to never let anything hold you down. Now I look at each obstacle that crosses my path as a new challenge, a chance for a new beginning.

Being "normal" is what's accepted in society today. But being different is not such a bad thing if you keep a smile on your face and put forth a positive attitude. Sure, people will look at you differently, but usually in a good way. They will value your insight and honor your accomplishments. They will respect you that much more because of what you have done will your condition. Most important you will feel good about yourself; just knowing that if you try your hardest you can accomplish anything you put your heart into.

Many people wonder how I can maintain such a positive attitude through everything my condition has dealt me. When I first found out that I had my medical condition, I was faced with so much all at once. I didn't know what else to do besides keep on living my life as I had always done, but to also somehow make it better. I know my life will never be the same as it once was, but in a way that's a good thing. I see my life now as full of opportunities that I may have not otherwise had. I will meet a whole group of new people, friends, and supporters that I would never have known. I will try and live my life to the fullest extent possible, and I have the drive just because I'm different from other people. I want to prove to the world that being different is a great thing, something to be celebrated, not looked down on.

Being different isn't necessarily a bad thing; it's all in how you look at it. It's all in how you handle each problem that comes your way. It all depends on your outlook on life…Think positive and your life will be positive.

--Holly, age 22

My Cage

Trapped in this cage of captivity

Silently i cry; "Why?"

Why must i be the one who cannot fly?

While other children run and play

i am condemned to sit and watch while a ray

of sunshine shines upon my face.

Silently i cry; "Why me?"

--Alexandra, age 12

Lost Muscle

The boy I know
With a disadvantaged shoulder
He would not bend down
Nor move his abnormal arm up and down.

He has loving parents
And his brothers are as kind
As a dog with his master
And a dad with his son.

He wasn't the fastest
He wasn't the best
When he vigorously tried to find friends
He ended up having the friends he had for
the past six years, his family.

-- Tyler, age 12, brother of FOP member, Timothy