"There are not many people like you in this world." A few weeks ago, I had a lady tell me this while I was working and it made me feel a mixture of emotions. In the way she meant it, it was a compliment and a heartwarming thank you, but it made me realise just how hard it is, to live in this world society, where judgement is more common than acceptance. Growing up, learning acceptance of people was a key factor in my life, as my sister Sarah had an intellectual disability called Möbius Syndrome. Sarah is my sister, she is a member of the community and she is a human being. Each of her friends accepted her too. She wasn't that girl with the disability; she was Sarah, a good, loving - and sometimes cheeky - friend who had the ability to comfort people and to make them smile. The lady I met at work had come in, mid afternoon, for an ice coffee. She had a walking frame and had brought along a sipping screw top cup to have her drink in. Like any other customer, I assisted her where she required it. I made her drink, her ham and cheese croissant and cleared a table beside the walkway for her to access with her frame. During all of this, I had a conversation with her, about her day and about mine. It was to the end of this conversation that the lady said, "You've worked with disabled people before." I explained to her about Sarah and about my years of volunteering for a disability organisation. She replied that she could tell I had experience and went on to say that she had cerebral palsy. "You don't treat me like I'm different. You treat and respect me like I am a person. There are not many people like you in this world." While all this was going on, I could see the other few customers in the store staring at her, most from the corner of their eyes, before quietly whispering away to one another. The level of hurt that I saw in that moment was disheartening; that acceptance has not been accepted. To the lady, I'm honoured by what you said of me and I can only hope society learns to accept those with a disability, not by the disability, but by who you are. To the family that had a lovely conversation with her later on, thank you for making her day a even better one.
