When I go out in my wheelchair, I need to be aware that the store I’m going to has wide aisles, making it easier to get around. But sometimes a store that has wide aisles will also have high shelves, and when that happens, I need to ask an employee to hand me a product I can’t reach.

Most of the time, I don’t mind asking others for help. I always say thank you with a smile and have a very positive attitude, but there used to be days when keeping this attitude was hard work. I didn’t want to ask for help. I’d do it, but I wouldn’t appreciate any help given because I felt angry and bitter about my life on wheels. I’d want to be left alone so I could wallow in self-pity for a while.

Fortunately, I found keeping a journal for several years helped me let go of these emotions. This hobby also helped me accept my life on wheels, and I rarely have these hard days now.

I appreciate help even when someone offers it without me having to ask. To me, this is the best type of assistance because I feel it doesn’t draw attention to my physical limitations. Sometimes, those limitations act as barriers; their obviousness makes others uncomfortable. When people feel this discomfort, my wheelchair is all they can see and That’s the reason I always have a positive attitude when I ask them to assist me.

Asking for help from others all depends on your tone of voice and on the words you choose. For example, the phrase ?Would you mind helping me?? lets a person know you’ll appreciate their help and implies you are in a good mood, whereas the phrase ?Can you help me now!? conveys the opposite (especially if you don’t thank them).

This brings to mind the memory of a childhood acquaintance: she had a physical disability but the difference between us was that she never appreciated any help. ?Why are you so bitter?? I inquired, feeling curious about the reasons(s) she never thanked the people who helped her daily. Her answer to my question was silence. In that moment I realized something: if you have a physical disability and You’re often bitter and angry about it without knowing why, then these emotions can be just as significant as the one you already have. In my mind, this person now had ?two disabilities for the price of one and That’s no bargain!? For readers who take this quote seriously, don’t. I’m just kidding.

Today, I realize that a positive attitude will always get noticed. If I ask someone for help and say thank you to let them know I appreciate it, they don’t care how I choose my words. Instead, It’s my tone of voice that comes across. The fact that they might see my limitations as obstacles won’t matter because, in that moment, I live a life without barriers.

No, I’m talking about birthdays; the only day of the year that allows you to be selfish without a reason.

This year, I turn 27. When many people’s birthday approaches, the old saying, ?Another year older and deeper in debt? may run through their minds.

I’ve been an AU student for two years now but it didn’t take long to discover a new saying: ?Another year older and still one credit short.?

This accurately expresses how I feel about being an undergrad when my birthday arrives and it also runs through my mind when I wonder how much longer it will take to earn my degree.

Throughout my childhood years, I never gave the idea of getting older much thought, and it never occurred to me on my birthday. I just enjoyed the cake, the gifts, and the company of my family and friends. I lived in the moment.

Now, I still live in the moment; I enjoy the same things but I have a clear understanding of time. Each year we get older and though we want to stop it we know It’s impossible. All we can do is try to accept it.

Everyone accepts getting older in their own way, though some people are more successful at doing this than others. For example, they may decide they’d rather focus on the things they can change rather than on the things they can’t.

I’m one of those people. For me, nothing specific led to this acceptance; it happened naturally. Like a young boy who is interested in his baby toys yet doesn’t think about them anymore in the moment he discovers he likes his toddler clothes.

I’m able to relish my life’s memories as they occur, though this was a difficult task to accomplish when I was a teenager. I longed for everything to stay the same and I thought, if I made this wish on my birthday cake each year, it would come true.

Today, I realize that accepting change is the key to believing that getting older is just a part of life.

I still make a wish when I blow out the candles on my birthday cake. I think we all like to make a wish because, in that moment, age doesn’t really matter.

The lack of time might be caused by heavy course loads or many family obligations, but this can be rectified if you work journaling into your schedule. Doing so takes just as much determination as it does to complete an AU course within six months.

I remember the first course package I received from AU. The study schedule they included to help me budget my time wisely (wisely enough so I could complete the course within a six-month period) frightened me. At first, I worried this goal would be too difficult to accomplish. Eventually, I ignored this emotion and used the schedule regularly and completed the course on time.

This is how you should approach journaling. First, think about a time of day you’d like to spend writing then stick to it. The time could be an hour each evening or it could be an hour for two evenings a week; just make sure that you won’t be interrupted.

If you need to, unplug the phone because its ringing will make you lose your concentration. Once this concentration is lost you will feel journaling is a chore and that may cause you to lose interest.

If you do so, you’ll miss out on the three benefits of journaling. The first benefit is the freedom you have to write about whatever you desire. Perhaps you want to write about a recent breakup with your boyfriend or about a bad grade you received on a research paper because you failed to understand the material. There are so many writing possibilities.

The second benefit is that when you write, you never need to worry about being too emotional (or about spelling errors) because you are the only one who will read the journal.

The third benefit is that the time you spend writing in your journal will allow you to discover different sides of yourself. Perhaps when you write about a certain story from your life, you’ll discover you are outgoing and adventurous and it’ll make you want to try rock climbing, something you said you’d never do because it looked unsafe.

The cover of a journal is also important because it will inspire you to write in it more frequently. I usually look for warm-coloured journal covers such as blue, pink, or green. Sometimes, I’ll pay the extra money for a leather journal because I love the look and the smell of it (I’ve always preferred black leather over brown).

If you buy a paper journal that has a cover you really like, and if you follow my suggestions on how to keep a journal, maybe one day you won’t need to plan a time to write in it. You’ll just open it and the first words you write, ?Dear Journal,? will encourage you to write long and often.