In high school, one of my favorite classes I took was drama. Granted, I had no aspirations to act or be involved in theater production, but I always had a flair for the dramatics! I enjoyed pretending and using my imagination, which made me a fan of improv. Though I didn’t go into show business, I still feel that a lot of the skills I picked up from the class helped me excel in my writing and public speaking.
One of my assignments daunted me, however. Our teacher tasked us with preparing a how-to tutorial for the class. She told us it didn’t have to be anything elaborate, with the exercise designed to challenge our presentation skills more than our expertise in the topic. She suggested that we could do as simple of a demonstration as making a sandwich.
Most of my classmates had a pretty easy time selecting what to present. Some of them seemed more nervous about the idea of how to showcase themselves. Back then, YouTube was fairly new, with none of the other video sharing platforms that we have today, so the notion of performing a skit doing something this ordinary seemed strange.
I had a different set of concerns. Because of my Cerebral Palsy and lack of motor functions, even the simplest task was out of my reach. I couldn’t make a sandwich or do anything that required intricate use of my hands. Most of my best skills were from my mind, so what could I physically showcase? I was pretty good at math, but I was no whiz that could calculate formulas in record time.
After wracking my brain for a while, I kept coming back to my knack for organizing. Ever since I was young, I loved to straighten up anything that was on my level in the grocery store that didn’t belong where it lay. But could I make a decently entertaining performance out of this compulsion?
My outside-of-the-box thinking led me inside the box. We happened to have a medium-sized cardboard box from a grocery run, so I compiled a handful of everyday items that would fit inside it. I rehearsed my “How to Pack a Box” bit, trying not to let it appear as ridiculous as it indeed was. Truth be told, I had my doubts about how it would fly, but without another option, I just committed to it.
No matter how many times I practiced, I couldn’t prevent my muscle spasticity from making a cameo, causing me to knock over this or that. It’s the bane of my existence, but there’s no point in resisting it. Thus, when it popped up as anticipated and jostled around the box and its contents, I laughed it off in front of my fellow students, even unconvincingly pretending the haphazard spills were intentional! Instead of rolling their eyes in chastisement, my classmates and teacher laughed along with me, applauded after I finished, and awarded me with high marks in their kind critiques.
This experience taught me the power of making the most of what you have, rather than cowering over the height of your limitations. We all have challenges and areas we aren’t skilled in, but life doesn’t always bow to that. On the contrary, it might often place you in a position where you have zero background and everything inside of you tells you that you’re better off quitting before you fall on your face.
Sure, I requested to be excused from a number of activities beyond my capabilities before and after this assignment. At times, there’s no getting around your deficiencies, regardless of willpower. When you see a loophole somewhere, though, you’ll appreciate the opportunity to take it. Others—even if it doesn’t turn out to be the majority—will admire you for taking that risk and owning your limited skill set…like packing a box!
KarinaBartow.com 