Photo Courtesy of Carole Smith When I was in the seventh grade, I had to have my appendix taken out.   I was hospitalized for two days.  In the hospital, I had complained about my pain, the ugly scars on my stomach, and how I was not able to walk.  Thankfully, the surgery was a success [...]

Photo Courtesy of Paperclip.Pro I have a friend named Tracy. I met Tracy though a volunteering event a few years ago, where we were making paper cards for children at a local orphanage. We talked and worked at the same time, each describing our lives at home. Tracey told me that she liked to write [...]

Photo Courtesy of Eagle1.effi In seventh grade, I sat next a student with a disability he was born with. His name was David, and he was blind. I had never spoken to him before, but I knew who he was. I remember that he had many friends and was always friendly towards anyone he met. The class [...]

Photo Courtesy of Caveman Chuck Coker The irony could not be greater. In my speech group, our mentor had a physical disability. When I first met her, I was amused at the idea that she would be able to instruct us. After all, how could someone who was not perfect herself help us? Still, at [...]

Yesterday, I went to the Art and Wellness Studio at the Grace Community Center, the only therapeutic recreation center of its kind in Santa Clara County that serves the social, recreational, and therapeutic needs of adults with mental illnesses. Stacey and I had planned a wonderful writing workshop at the center that will continue to [...]

Photo Courtesy of Ceziceu It’s the year 2008, and the scariest thing I did was to help a neighbor named Bruce with his groceries. No, he wasn’t some shadowy  monster from the stuff of nightmares, but Bruce-the-white-guy-with LOTS-of-cats-and-a-wheelchair was right up there with Dracula and Frankenstein in my twelve-year old mindset.  Also, I possessed a [...]

Photo Courtesy of Fran Tapia One of my hobbies is volunteering.  Being a young teenager, I believe thatvolunteering is important in our community. I volunteer at the library for acraft program where I help children make crafts for them to enjoy.  As I was volunteering at the library one day,for a craft program, I had [...]

Photo Courtesy of Wonderlane Out of all the disabilities out there in the world today, the most tragic of all are the ones that are invisible to us: mental disabilities. People have ignored these types of problems and claim that they are able to be cured through ignorance and just simply, through stress-relief. I felt that [...]

Photo Courtesy of CECAR When I was in 7th grade, I was invited to be part of a group of friends for a special girl called Lauren. Lauren had cerebral palsy. She could not talk, walk, or control her drooling. She had a computer to help her communicate with others and always needed an aide [...]

Photo Courtesy of Dawn Huczek For our sophomore year we were required to complete 6 hours of community service. At first, I was just going to volunteer with my clubs at school but then I heard about an opportunity to work with disabled kids by helping them play and learn soccer. I immediately became interested [...]

Photo Courtesy of epSos.de During a regular day in class a year ago, I sat the closest next to the door and was in charge of turning on and off the lights. While I was listening to a lecture from Mr. Jia (My Chinese teacher) I heard the door open and thought it was another [...]

Photo Courtesy of stevendepolo In my high school history class, we had an assignment to go out and do community service for school credit. When I first heard of this assignment, I was intrigued, because I always feel like I should do something for the community, but could never seem to find the time. The [...]

Photo Courtesy of Whiz Kris It was a bright day, as I walked to school looking forward to the motivational speech we were to be given. As a change from the regular schedule, I knew that the motivational speaker would add a new light to my day. However, I did not know he would completely [...]

Photo Courtsey of kevin dooley In elementary school, I met this blind boy in church named David. He was a very tall person who was very strong and talented. I always was with him at church and hung out him a lot. Some people did treat him differently because he was blind. I never treated [...]

Photo Courtesy of Britanglishman When I was about 12 years old I saw a new kid walk in through the door of my church’s youth group room.  At that time I had no idea that he had ADHD or Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or that he was made fun of all his life because he could [...]

Last Friday, WorldWeDream partnered with the Cupertino United Nations Club and held the “Write a Story Challenge” in the school computer lab. We had a great turnout with over thirty students coming in to write stories about their experiences with people with disabilities and how they shaped their life. We’ve been posting them under our [...]

Photo Courtsey of Ron Cogswell I was more than excited when I found out my parents told me I could go to Hong Kong for my very first time. I couldn’t sit still during the thirteen hour flight to Hong Kong, and all I can think of is the food I am going to eat, [...]

Photo Courtsey of Ola Wiberg In my world history class, there is a boy named David, who is blind. He never really talked to me, apart from the time when he told me that he went on 13 rides in a single day at Great America. Although no one talks to him that much, and he [...]

A child of the age of 15. Going to high school, just like the rest of you. But one thing makes him stand out from the rest. People stare as him as he strolls by in his 50 pound electric wheelchair with a man behind him, guiding him to his classes. People try avoiding him [...]

Photo Courtesy of Pedronet On the first day of Winter Break, I was signed up for a mission’s trip to the Soma district in San Francisco. There, I and a few friends were told to go out around the neighborhood and talk to the homeless people. We then made a lunch for ourselves, and went [...]

My grandfather has Parkinson’s disease. He used to be a tall, athletic, smart man. As a high school student, he was a good basketball player. He even helped found a university in Shanghai. Having Parkinson’s disease has taken away most of his mobility and cognitive capabilities. As a child, I almost always visited my grandparents [...]