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Asked by Best Mates to Dan, Jennifer, Luke, Martin, sakshisharda on 15 Mar 2018.
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Jennifer Paxton answered on 15 Mar 2018:
Well my major challenges were overcoming bullying in school and also having to get over an injury that meant I had to stop playing musical instruments so I’ll tell you about both.
1) I got bullied quite badly when I was in the younger years of high school mainly because I liked learning, I tried hard, I was shy and I was overweight. It wasn’t easy but over time the bullying got better, I made good friends in school who liked the same things as me and eventually school became very enjoyable. Looking back, I think I was just an easy target and it was the bullies who were insecure in themselves. Don’t let anybody stop you doing what you like – it’s so important! Be confident in yourself!
2) I loved playing the violin and piano at school and did think I might like to study music at university but unfortunately I tore a tendon in my finger. Tendons are the thick straps or strings that attach muscles to bone. When you contract a muscle, it shortens and pulls on the ‘string’ and the bone moves towards it. I was in so much pain and it meant that I couldn’t move my finger – so playing my violin or piano was definitely out of the question for a long time 🙁
Luckily I was very interested in science too and went to University to study that instead….and in a weird twist of fate, I now actually work on tendons and bones and how to repair them after injury! Weird, huh?
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Dan Gordon answered on 15 Mar 2018:
My challenges were that i am registered blind, which means that what you can see from 60 feet away i have to be 6 feet away to see. This has meant that i have had to learn to develop coping strategies in my work. I also have an assistant who is employed to read material for me and work with me. She makes my life a lot easier. I also have computers in my office and labs that have hug screens, my one i am using now is a LED 42 inch TV. I have learnt that i can do most things but may do them in a slightly different way to everyone else.
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Luke Williams answered on 16 Mar 2018:
For me at school it was bullying, at secondary school mostly. In the end I ignored them. Most of it was because I enjoyed learning and was very good at school. Also the glasses didn’t help.
However, all those who were my bullies at the beginning of secondary school realised over time what they were doing and slowly stopped. I still remember the conversation with one of them in the final year, I think it was just before we were leaving school for the last time. He apologised to me for all the things that he had said, that he was sorry for ever saying them, and didn’t mean any of them now.
Bullies are humans too, just like you are. It doesn’t make what they do right, but it makes it much easier if you understand that half the time what they say isn’t even about you.
Comments
Best Mates commented on :
Thank you very much.