Normal

This summer was a fairly normal summer. I tried to do more, but it ended up being just... normal. One of those normal activities was the Muscular Dystrophy Association summer camp, which is one of the highlights of my summer.

MDA summer camp is a 5-day sleep-away summer camp, for anyone under 18 with disabilities affecting their muscles. It has many activities, just like a regular camp. It has arts and crafts, a pool, a talent show, laser tag, and many more. It's a lot of fun, and I wish it was longer.

It's one of the normal things I do in summer.

And at camp, I'm normal.

A picture of campers and counselors doing arts and crafts at MDA summer camp this year.

Everyone at camp has a disability, and everyone gets their own counselor who helps them and takes care of them. The activities are inclusive and accessible, so that everyone can take part. They had wheelchair soccer, which basically turned the chairs into bumper cars, and bazooka baseball, which was regular baseball except the ball was launched by a pressurized launcher which the camper aimed. They even made a "flying squirrel" activity, where you get launched into the air attached to a pulley system, accessible to everyone.

All of these adaptations aren't just for me. They're for everyone. At camp, I can hang out with people who are like me, and I can feel comfortable and do everything just like everyone else. I'm not special there, and that's okay.

Lots of people take being able to do things for granted. And at camp, I can too. Living with a disability is far from normal, and I'm okay with that. I've adapted to it, and I have fun with it, despite all the obstacles. I'm not saying that everyday life is a struggle. It's fine most of the time. But, every once in a while, I like to be normal, to just relax and not worry about the accessibility side of things.

My summer was a normal one, and that's okay. Normal isn't always bad.