What is Normalcy and who defines it

[Music]

[Music]

do

yes that’s me in the clip you just saw

i’m curious what did you notice while

watching it

on second thought let’s come back to

this question in a bit

as i believe it is important for you to

know me

and my story before that so let’s dive

right in

you might have noticed something

different about me the moment you saw me

it’s okay i don’t mind acknowledging it

i do look like stunning in black don’t i

okay enough beating around the bush let

me just say it out loud

i was not very old when my parents had

to take the disheartening

decision of amputating my right forearm

to eliminate a life-threatening

condition

that one circumstance has altered the

course of my life ever since

you might believe that my life up until

now might have been

completely different due to this fact

but let me assure you

it’s not if i were to describe it using

a single word

i would choose the word normal

growing up i had questions about myself

and the world

like every other child has there have

been moments when i would get frustrated

about how i have to take the strenuous

way out

to do the most trivial of tasks

sometimes

but as you grow older you get calmer

and learn to accept yourself just the

way you are

after countless back and forth with

insecurities and self-doubt

i eventually learned the method of

accepting myself just the way i

am and not let it hinder my capability

despite all of this there is an issue

that i still cannot resolve

it is the society’s perception of me and

my body

while introducing myself i call myself

ambitious isha

which is who i am most of the time but

ambition stems from true passion and a

sense of purpose

which i’ve only ever felt at the highest

of intensity for my academics

yeah you heard me right academics

this passion was triggered by one

particular incident

back when i was in nursery and had

forgotten to do my homework as a result

of which

i ended up receiving something my sister

and i

call the dreaded red fish in my notebook

from my teacher

as inconsequential as that little mark

on my notebook sounds

it was sufficient to make young isha

scared enough

to make up her mind to never miss

another homework or assignment in her

life

now you might believe that this passion

arises from overcoming the fear or

beloved redfish or the fact that i found

myself securing a rank in school

followed by the time i topped the mumbai

region in my hsc exam

but i beg to differ yes

those ranks awards and validations do

motivate me to focus

and strive in terms of academics but

it is the process that excites me the

most

i’m a firm believer of the fact that

unless you enjoyed the process

you could never excel in a field when

you thoroughly enjoyed the process

along with focusing on your ultimate

goal you could even swim through a seven

hour long lecture effortlessly speaking

of which

let me introduce you to my journey of

becoming a mermaid oh

i’m sorry i meant a swimmer my journey

of becoming a swimmer

i started swimming in 5th grade

participated in my first tournament in

8th grade

and then there was no turning back only

goals to set and achieve

my swimming routines and practices are

almost identical to what every other

swimmer goes through

one might believe that my hand might

hinder my ability to do such physical

activities and workouts

but it usually isn’t the case though it

might slow me down a bit in a few

strokes

it doesn’t drastically affect my

performance

i have participated in district state

and national level palestinian events

various other tournaments and also in

bso competing with non-para-athletes

the best thing about competitions is the

complete spirit of sportsmanship that

fills there

i have always found support and healthy

competition

from all those whom i competed against

and i found it as a great opportunity to

socialize

and network with people from different

walks of life

another important lesson swimming has

taught me is that

you win some and you lose some but

at times as all humans do i do get

demotivated by defeat

and in those moments a little blue fish

from my childhood comes to me singing

you know what you gotta do when life

gets you down

just keep swimming just keep swimming

just keep swimming swimming swimming

but i cannot take all the credit now can

i one of the first golden rules that we

are taught by learning accountancy

states

debit the receiver and credit deliver

and i cannot go without giving due

credits

to my pillars of support to a great

degree

the values that a child imbibes comes

from the parenting that they receive

i grew up in a household where i had the

familiarity to be

myself without any hesitation or doubt

and the independence to pursue whatever

i had my heart in

when it comes to my parents whom i

consider my first pillar of support

they were never the ones to worry about

my grades or my performance in school

they believed in letting me and my

sister learn our lessons by ourselves

while they made sure they were with us

every step of the way

my parents are my armor protecting me

from harm

while helping me to stand up straight

and proud of myself

making sure i ingested well with others

that i don’t face any difficulty that

other children wouldn’t

they are the embodiment of strength

support and stability in my life

it is not easy to have a child who is

different from others

you face a bunch of questions that can

become bothersome

be it intentional or not my parents

tested every day to avoid every judgment

or misconception that came my way

and never let it become an obstacle for

me

they handled the outside world and me so

well

i wouldn’t be entirely wrong in calling

them executives

working on the giant function of hr and

pr in my life

the next pillar of support and perhaps

the most important one for me

is my sister a sibling relationship may

reasonably be a complicated one

with differences of opinion and a clash

of interests

but that was never the case with us

even though we sometimes have your

pointless things

she has always been my beacon of

motivation

my confidant one who constantly pushes

me to do better

while catering to my smallest of needs

making sure i am comfortable wherever i

am

it is said that it is easy to find

support within the four walls of a house

but when you step outside the

circumstances turn difficult

but what i experienced was nowhere

similar to the safe statement

my teachers have always been a pillar of

support for me

outside my home growing up i used to

wear a prosthetic arm

and on request i remember a few of my

teachers coming home to learn how it

worked

so that they could help me to put it on

while i was in the school premises

it’s this level of determination

understanding

and empathy that instilled confidence in

me while growing up

and has led me to respect them as much

as i do

the last pillar of support that keeps me

afloat are my coaches

who recognized what i was capable of and

pushed me towards all the opportunities

waiting for me to seize them

my national level coach made me

understand what tough love is

sometimes you need your coach to be

tough and demanding of you

to push your limits and do better

consistently

after an intense practice session when

my mother would come up to offer me some

water

he would stop her saying children don’t

tire easily

it is not good to condition them to

think that they need help because

the best performance and stamina comes

out only when they have been pushed to

their very limits

there was a time when i came second in

the swimming competition

and my coach rejoiced as if i had won a

grand title

something he had said then still echoes

in my heart

if i were to translate it to english it

would mean

there is no one in front of the one who

comes first

but there is always an aim in front of

the one who comes second

the aim to reach as high as the first

one

but for those who come first their

challenge is to maintain their position

swimming has also taught me to be

grateful for all that i have instead of

dwelling on the negatives

there is a concept of disability paradox

that states how most people think

a person with a disability like me

leaves an unhappy life

on the contrary my life couldn’t be more

normal and happy

it is true that i am at a disadvantage

when it comes to certain

tasks like tying my shoelaces or styling

my hair into a ponytail

but i feel my disability has helped me

to become stronger in ways

i wouldn’t have otherwise imagined

i think differently abled individuals

are actually disabled by society’s

perception

more than by their diagnosis people tend

to see my disability even before they

see me

which means that their mind goes to all

the things that i cannot

do instead of all the things that i can

do

this often has me wondering what is

normal

and who decides it the more i ponder on

it the more solid the idea becomes that

normal

is just a word a word as subjective as a

person’s taste in movies color

food or music to conceive this idea

i look at normal as a plane in

equilibrium

perfectly balanced perfectly stable

for most people this plane is flat and

even

making it easy for them to walk on it

but for me the same plane seems to be

lopsided

instead of having the benefit of walking

on a steady plane

i have to climb it walking

and climbing are two different processes

to reach the same end

one being less exalted than the other so

just because climbing is slightly more

taxing than walking

does it make climbing an anomaly or does

it make it special

can we ever fix either walking or

climbing

under the label of normal i think not

there are some strokes in water that i

just cannot make

there are few objects that need me to

have a firmer grip

most of the time some additional effort

into usual tasks is

all that it takes not being able to do

a certain task on account of inability

is common for

all of us the difference just lies in

what the task is

a few face difficulty in remembering of

you cannot manage their finances

and some others are not as accomplished

in their academics

everyone has their shortcomings and

imperfections

are what make us human

as a child i learn that everyone has to

work towards molding their identity

of what they aspire to be and what they

want to be known and remembered for

i see myself as fortunate when it comes

to that

the knack for academics along with my

proficiency in numbers

helped me to become certain at an early

stage that i wanted to be a ca when i

grew up

i am just like the others in my peer

group i study for the same mass and a

determined and aspiring ca student would

contrary to how difficult society

presumes my life to be

i live a perfectly normal life with

affectionate parents a caring sister

and a group of supportive friends who

never make me feel any less than they

are

i was subjected to neither preferential

treatment nor differential treatment

and that has played an integral part in

shaping me

and my attitude that i have today

if someone would ask me whether i would

want to wish for a different

life or to be in a different situation

my answer to that would be a no without

a second thought

this is the idea of normalcy for a girl

with earnest deems

trying to become successful in her life

there is something however something i

always wish people would try to

understand from my

perspective i do not consider myself

disabled

i am just another human who needs your

consideration and assurance

rather than the sympathy and

disheartenment

being a person who is slightly different

than others

does not make me a sight of pity or

unusualness

i identify myself as normal someone who

embraces her individuality

because what is normalcy but

what we define for ourselves coming back

to the question i started off with

i leave you with a slightly different

question

what do you notice now my abilities

or my disability