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On the way back from school, I felt a slight tug on the hem of
my shirt as my wheelchair suddenly came to a stop. The familiar yet
vague voice of my mother rang through my ears as she told me that a
young boy with similar circumstances to mine wanted to talk to me.

Even then, I could not hear even a whisper of whatever it was that
he was trying to say. I started to doubt my mother until I felt a pair
of small yet rough hands enclasp mine. My mother then whispered

in my ears, telling me that he was mute and that he was physically
impaired, just like I was. As confused as I was, I let matters take
their own flow as I was at a loss for what to do. The hands that
seemed so frail and feeble were trembling, yet he gripped my hands
with all his might, as though he was desperately trying to convey

a message. The warmth which encapsulated my hand continuously
emanated from his, and suddenly, I was finally able to understand
what he was trying to convey. Being in the same circumstances as

I was, he wanted me to persist, to persevere despite how broken,
how imperfect I was. In the face of adversity, I had been put down,
ruined, and was unable to return to my original state of positivity.
Yet, as I felt the hand of someone I would have previously felt
disgusted with and looked down on, I was then rejuvenated with

the will to live. He became the key to my heart, freeing me from the
box I was caged within as light started to illuminate and overcome
the darkness in me. I returned the gesture, grasping his small hands

as tightly as I could as tears started to well up in my unopened eyes.
Yet, I didn’t let the tears fall out. Because if I did, that would be an
admission of defeat to the world I was now about to prove wrong,
as I was not about to just resign to my fate.

Just like that, the world around me was full of colour once
again. Even if I couldn’t see what was around me, even if I couldn’t

hear as clearly as I could before, even if I was unable to stand on
my own two feet anymore, I would face whatever that came by in https://www.pexels.com/photo/blue-and-orange-abstract-painting-3705239/
life with a positive mindset, as this was a statement of intent. That
no matter how broken, how unfortunate or how ruined your life is,

the world will not lick your feet and twist to your every order. The
only thing we imperfect people can do is face whatever obstacle or
hardship the world may bring with our chins up, back straight and
our faces forward, never looking back, as this is the only way to

bend whatever we want to achieve in life to our own will. Because
that is life, with all its shades and colours, dark yet bright, sharp yet
soft, harsh yet beautiful.

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