I am a non-traditional student who gained a new lease on life with the help of a wonderful GP doctor. He helped me find medication to control the Tourette's Syndrome which has given me difficulty throughout life. Now, after working for years doing basic work, I am attending a great school, have volunteered in the emergency department with two great hospitals, and have contributed time to the Red Cross plus Americore. Right now, I am studying hard and earning my BA with the goal of obtaining entrance into medical school. In my free time, I practice judo and box, and currently am the VP of our wonderful new University of Iowa Boxing club/team.

I have a 5 year old son I love dearly and spend a lot of time with when not busy with school and family that supports and encourages my newfound lease on a more normal life. Beyond all of that, I am eternally grateful to the doctor who helped me cope and function in society more normally and it is my most earnest desire to do for others what he did for me.

Essay: The Internet

The internet, as a whole, has changed society in a varied number of ways. We can look at the great advances in banking, industry, communication, and entertainment while seeing that the internet changed society but we should not forget how it has enabled the disabled greatly and for the better.

Many disabled individuals still spend much of their time indoors and, as is an unfortunate reality, socialization gets harder as you steer away from societal norms of appearance or manner. Given this reality, the internet has allowed those who are generally more hemmed into a home situation to reach out and find socialization opportunities where simply none existed before.

Where once a quadriplegic could only spend limited time out and would only regularly see a caregiver as their social companion, now they can chat globally with people of all races, genders and interests using adaptive technologies (also very important) to facilitate the conveyance of ideas into textual throughput. I know this firsthand! I have met a variety of amazing friends facing debilitating or degenerative neuromuscular diseases who not only had keenly insightful things to share but actually helped steer through difficult emotional issues of my own. Without the creation of the internet, none of our friendships or socialization opportunities would likely have occurred.

This outlet of communication and shared understanding or empathy not only deals with one segmented populace of the disabled but is so broadly encompassing that it has changed for the better the lives of most any disabled persons able to adequately work communication technology. Even in my own life I have found this to be critical to a more varied and well-rounded degree of socialization.

There are times when I am social and times when I feel I should be a bit less social, given that my tics and mannerisms both change and wax or wane by week or month. The internet allows me to communicate in a medium that is free from judgement or the stresses of maintaining a 'normal' appearance lest I be shunned, but rather allows me to freely express and interact with others on an even footing.

Beyond this, the advent of distance learning has empowered a generation of disabled to learn, study and grow through mediums which would simply not be possible without the hardware framework of networks which we know of as the internet today.

So, while possibly banal or overly-broad, this is why I absolutely cherish the ability to use the internet and appreciate the social and personal changes it has allowed myself and many, many others to enjoy through their lives.

Thank you.