Doing thing's just a Little Bit Differently

 Thank You Sharpley Training for believing in me and adapting things to fit me. Also for being the first ones to not tell me to just skip the exercise. Thank you for working with me to finally achieve a pull-up, push-up, and jumping rope. 
It means the world to me.
Thank you so much!

Sarah Stump
#ImperfectlyPerfect

---

​A little bit differently
              Last night was one of those nights when I had a small realization of being made just a little bit differently. As I scrolled through my photos last night I came across some with my prosthetic and some without. I began to cry, not because I wish I would have had two hands, but because I often forget that I do not. I recently started training and it has really hit me hard that I am missing my arm. Not in a negative way but in a positive way.
Gym Class
                Since a kid I always had gym class in school, I never thought about it much as a kid because I just ignored it and did what I could. In elementary when it came to jumping rope I was always told to skip it or just jump up and down to get the same affect. I can remember as a kid watching everyone else in class jump rope just fine. I often wondered to myself why it was harder for me and it was always a goal of mine to achieve this task. I tried my best as a kid to achieve it but I often got too frustrated and just told myself I would learn when I was older. In middle school gym class continued and they added push-ups. We would have competitions to see who could achieve the most push-ups. When it was time I can remember kids looking at me wondering if I could perform them. Some teachers told me to try my best and others told me to just skip them. When I performed my push-ups I was always lopsided and it was uncomfortable but I kept with it because I wanted to prove people wrong and show that I could do anything people with two arms could do. In high school push-ups and jump rope were still in gym class and one more challenge was added; pull-ups. For jump rope I was told to skip the task, push-ups just try my best or skip, and for pull-ups I was told to skip that as well. The thing that bothered me most was that I never learned how to achieve these tasks.
Looking at things differently
                I broke down last night because I was proud to be different. I broke down because I never want any other child to be told to skip something just because they were made differently, but instead be told that they can. As I stated earlier I have been training and thanks to Sharpley Training I have achieved jumping rope, push-ups, and pull-ups. I may do things a little bit differently but they had the faith in me that I could achieve each task. I cannot express how grateful I am for their faith in me and for finding ways for me to preform different tasks just by adapting a little bit differently. While practicing jump rope on my own I found that going backward was easier for me for some reason. With lots of practice and help from Sharpley Training, I finally learned how to jump rope forward. We found that I often closed my eyes, I think because I had never learned and was scared of the jump rope but they reminded me to keep them open and I kept trying. With practice I eventually got it and I can honestly say I was very proud and went to show my parents and get myself a jump rope. It is not perfect of course and I still need lots of practice but I now can say that I can jump rope; something I have been waiting to say since kindergarten.
My advice to others
                Never let anyone or anything stop you from achieving things. Yes, you are going to face challenging situations and get frustrated with them; but I can promise you that if you keep your head up and keep trying your best to accomplish the task one day you will finally achieve it. It is going to take time and lots of practice but you will get there, and never lose sight or faith in yourself. Remember that you can do anything you put your mind to. Believe in yourself and your dreams. It took me seventeen years to learn how to jump rope, and do a pull up. You will get there just keep practicing. So remember anything is possible and never let anyone tell you differently. If someone tells you that you cannot do something, look them straight in the eye and say “watch me”. Believe in yourself.