High school can be a challenging time for many students, whether it is difficult situations going on at home, hard classes or the notorious KHS blender. None of these things are the most challenging for Sofie Carrillo, who has Cerebral Palsy and faces the personal challenge of trying to fit in everyday.
Carrillo is a freshman who loves to draw and has a very misunderstood sense of humor. Although she uses a wheelchair and is limited physically, that does not mean she is limited as a person, physically or mentally. Her goal is to try to get through the everyday academic and social obstacles of high school. That is a normal day for Carrillo.
“Cerebral Palsy is different in every case and in every person and it affects different parts of the body. But for me it mostly affects my growth, especially in muscles in my legs whenever I have a growth spurt. So, when I have a growth spurt my bones grow quicker than my muscles do, and say then we do mat stretches you’re literally stretching out your muscles so that they are the same as your bones. As for mental, it’s not as strong as some would have in other cases, but it can still be seen,” Carrillo said.
Sometimes people find it uncomfortable to discuss topics they are not familiar with.and it can be difficult to talk or focus on these challenges.
“I think the fact that a lot of people don’t have any background knowledge about what it is, so you have to sit there and explain to them the whole process. Like, with other diseases it could be simpler, but for us it’s not because there’s so many cases of ‘what if’s’ or ‘how does this work’ or what affects you that some might not affect you,” Carrillo said.
Sometimes a person’s biggest challenges are things that others take for granted.
“This is gonna sound really weird, but I think when you have to do a project and you have to choose a partner, I kind of long for them to pick partners for us because you can’t get up to choose a partner because, especially in a class where there’s all desks right next to each other and there’s also that feeling of they don’t know how you are and how capable you are and so people will stray away from you when it comes to projects. And then a lot of times I think, ‘Well why can’t I just do this project by myself?’ I feel like I’m putting people down that are doing this project with me they just feel like they have to,” Carrillo said.
When people struggle, it can be important to stay motivated. Carillo has her own way of managing her in life.
“I get really stressed out whenever I do something really bad. And usually it takes me doing something really bad to take the initiative to step up my game and really, like try. So, I wouldn’t say that I enjoy failing something, but if I do something and it’s not good enough I know that I can try harder and I can do better,” Carrillo said.