phrase nobody’s perfect a disability is
certainly not life mistake but it is an
avenue of which we can learn more about
selves and how other people perceive us
now I was born with a disability called
cerebral palsy and an associated hearing
loss now I would like to change that
word disability because what if we shift
our perspective so it’s not disability
anymore it’s a gift all challenges are
gifts that we have in life because they
inspire us through hard work and
motivation to overcome those challenges
to reach the dreams that we have in life
now it had always been my dream my
single dream for as long as I could
possibly remember to one day stand up
thank you thank you my feet were turned
in like that when I was very young and
my mom noticed that and she took me to
several doctors most told her I’m sorry
mr. Chen it’s really nothing that you do
Paul never be able to walk my mom left
disgusted annoyed that she didn’t get
hope from a doctor and she never gave up
on a search until she finds one doctor
who had a little more positive attitude
he told her this mr. buchinsky he can’t
walk right now but maybe we’ll put
braces on his legs he will need a
Braille braces seven days a week 24
hours a day but hopefully turns feet so
he face forward
and if you do that the chance that have
you able to learn to walk and then he
warned my mom I warn you mr. buchinsky
if this happens it’s not to happen
overnight it can take years but if you
on your son walk it can only begin
through small steps and those small
steps it took when I was seven years old
my parents took me into a twist war and
I actually got lost in tourists war how
did my mom feel she was thrilled I got
lost because I was able to walk away
from her that I never had before
and then I parents took me into a
supermarket hmm I see you know like I
put the cereal in the cart when nobody’s
looking my mom sees it takes a
helicopter back on the Showgirl giving
it sound familiar
okay one thing that was different I was
learning to walk and what happens when
you’re learning to walk
you fall down and I’m on the floor my
mom and grandmother right there over me
they wanted to bend over to pick me up
however my father had a different idea
he says no don’t help him turns to me
pull get up I said get up
your mother higher I can help you get up
and then I’m looking around and
supermarket helped my parents for
helping me I was becoming frustrated
it’s that little voice inside – screams
I can’t my father was trying to teach me
Paul when every day that work and all
you maybe thank you hearing
don’t even bother loons listen instead
well one your gravity and ribbon on that
word you live with can yes I can
in other words if we were careful Oh
vocabulary we are just not willing to
sell for anything less
Simba dad did he encouraged me Paul
we’re not gonna help you shift your
weight over put your hand there shelves
and trying to pull yourself up come on
you could do it
go on he was encouraging me and that’s
very important if you fall down and your
family and friends always around you
didn’t hop up all the time you can never
learn to get up on your own give me
independence to learn to think by myself
rather than a happy people do them for
me when all they need to do is reach a
little beyond myself and that is were
called achievement now my mom is
frustrated that my dad is alright so she
took me it there be all the time and I
used to have fun with her alright and
the long I went to therapy the better I
was walking when you walk into
supermarket or a shopping mall with big
smile on your face it’s contagious
the world small second you all the time
so over the 18 years old 18 I finally
get my driver’s license
Wow
highway I’m looking around at all the
other drivers
no what are you smiling what can I do
give them a smile planning I try to
drive like a grandmother now you may
think it’s funny but think about this if
you go on the highway five-month hour
slower than the other cars around you
there’s never any traffic in front of
you right all the traffic ends up behind
you book house you need to go faster
you don’t need to slow down you don’t
need to cheat lanes
your own cruise control for 80 miles
until your razor comes up you’re under
no pressure of stress and you have a big
smile on your face true I was smiling do
you think other drugs around me were
smiling no way the past man I’m smiling
then when I don’t see my Swan returned
I’m thinking they’re thinking this guy’s
gotta be nuts
so when that didn’t work I never gave up
I simply found another way to reach
rankle Plan B which did work now I have
a little mercury topaz grandmother’s car
this is a wheel cap it covers the lug
nuts that hold the wheel onto the car
this cab is scratched faded chipped it
looks horrible I wanna get this looking
brand new again but I wonder we painted
silver I need to take off this chrome
mercury emblem it’s not chrome it’s
plastic but you get the idea
so it’s up to Temple mo for the wheels I
took this emblem off the grill and trunk
the car had no badges on it and instead
I put on BMW emblems
right minam I put a BMW amber my heavy
wheel like this
I put it the NW and them on the grill I
pulled on the trunk
Ivan looked on even I got number 330ci
I’m putting in chocolate so I had all
the BMW emblems on my car that wasn’t at
the end of you do you think yes you’re
over smiling the Lord half of them do
you know the other si I never seen that
version we did that car and I would
probably save them you haven’t seen my
BMW because you or BMW over there
that’s the American version I have the
European version this is a reason why I
ever seen ice sheets and then they would
burst out laughing now alright I was
wondering I want to ask you a question
raise your hand if you think you draw
better than I can
hmm one hand oh come on what about you
guys you don’t know all you know is I
have a disability but you don’t
therefore you could do everything Zacks
do better than I can right
maybe maybe not but up here you have an
image a person with disability my job
here today is a shutter that image break
it and with that mind are you ready to
never let your ad to become your biggest
disability the legs my legs like I’m
trying to build them up to me nigga
doing strong again my legs are so weak I
cannot even stand up on my own the
teacher has to come over and lift me up
watch yeah she comes and lifts me up so
I could get up in front of the class
lift up on can’t legs so students could
see the Brisas I used to wear my legs I
don’t wear them anymore but this is what
it look like they go from just below me
from the foot to just below the knee the
black sock is over them the white
sockets under them I wore them until
evident grade 10 and then they were
taken off for good so now I decided to
fly an airplane but instead of flying it
I wanted to jump out of it and here we
are at 15,000 feet above the ground it’s
a long way down and then it comes my
120 miles an hour straight down 200 feet
a second for one minute you can’t scream
you scream you took on the air so I try
to show how strong I am
watch me on the bottom mr. muscles yeah
uh-oh don’t turn around it’s mainly
dizzy hey wait a minute didn’t I say
earlier in the presentation that I can’t
run how am I ever gonna get down if I
can’t run listen to what the cam man
says first all right he did
job I was played for the first time yeah
a psycho I don’t think so this is my
friend Jeff he persuaded me to jump out
I didn’t even need a land had a
bodybuilder behind me
for now the world down here looks pretty
good
in fact these divers say it’s a bit of
heaven underwater
drew Levinson CBS News Summit New Jersey
now all these experiences seem like that
life is a fantastic dream alright about
15 years ago I was going to one of my
school assemblies in North Jersey where
I live and I’m gonna vote about 5 a.m.
in the morning and driver forces me off
the highway and makes me go head on into
a guardrail at 50 miles an hour the car
spun around and ended up in the right
lane of the highway facing the other
direction when I look at my my
windshield
I see 18 wheelers coming towards me in
my lane I don’t have any headlights just
singing them no parking lights the whole
front end was damaged and it was 5 a.m.
in the morning what do I do
like him get out of the car because
there’s a guardrail right there I came
back up at 40 miles hour but I just
prayed and the drivers in the 18-wheeler
saw something with a head they moved
over and passed me on my right and after
they did that I turned around
pulled off on the shoulder when it
opened up called the state police they
came and took a report but the other
driver never stopped and then this made
me realize I was more interested dead to
the school because that I have a bunch
of third graders I didn’t want to
disappoint them so the officer had no
choice but to let me go
but he warned me drive slowly this car
doesn’t have front end on it anymore and
by the way what kind of car is this no
I’m not getting your BMW grille you can
leave it in the middle of the highway
just go just follow me I’ll have my
lights on
just follow me I’ll take you to the
school so I got to school that morning I
did the Assembly’s I got to tell you
emotionally they were the most difficult
assemblies I could ever do but this made
me realize that life is dream there are
good times and bad times in that dream
the good times are when the Sun rises
east its hind sky those type of you feel
good about yourself everything is going
away you’re happy you’re content you’re
getting good grades in school but
becomes other times and sunsets behind
you and then it gets darker that’s anger
frustration depression but the key here
is to never lose sight of the future
keep your T’s focus to the east the Sun
must rise again for me for you for
everyone and then it happened
my son was writing in and I decided to
get a new BMW this is actually a Honda
Accord
[Music]
I took off all the Honda emblems and
they put on BMW M ones and then my
little brother got married and he had an
idea to have me chauffeur him in his
bride in my car at their wedding and
pretty soon all my friends got in tattoo
when they got married they want me to
use my car
alright so it turns out that my dream is
to meet Billy Joel I don’t want to meet
him in style I have a cool car to show
him okay but the car is not the only
canvas I like to paint I like to draw
and some of these are my drawings I have
a 1958 Chevy Impala convertible
the American flag with moving or
fireworks posting around it and even
Giancarlo’s to play Timmy
I painted lassie and he wore a fun
painting my favorite one the Porsche I
have this at home
and if you look below the Porsche that’s
a 55 inch TV set and finally reading
earning the PhD from Rutgers was a dream
come true and family and friends need to
support you in reaching the dream I got
my grandmother my orthopedist my mom my
little brothers and even meeting Billy
okay even it’s fine the New York Giants
and my letter is published in David
Hasselhoff’s autobiography so all you
need to do it’s your school David
Hasselhoff with my name to read the
letter all right now I’m gonna end this
all right I want you to close your eyes
just imagine that you are about to
compete in the Special Olympics
you have your favorite sport but all you
need is a little motivation so what can
I offer you so to each of the athletes
have fun and challenge yourself to be
the best could possibly be no matter the
results of competition you are indeed a
winner for accepting the opportunity to
compete with yourself and against others
of course that may be tackling a lot of
come in first place but you will never
ever become a loser be humble when you
achieve it three exudes honor upon
defeat no one should ever tell you that
you do not deserve what you want if you
strive to be the best your be your
perseverance so faithfully guide you
through the fiercest storms to the
greatest sunshine of life to the parents
and coaches we must continue to build
that mental tolerance a spirit of
compassion and the knowledge comes from
educating ourselves getting young
students to become proud of their
achievements means giving them more than
emotional support and encouragement they
need to be surrounded by the company of
family and friends that set high
expectations ago good jobs that’s lesson
what the person and put what you have
learned to use and all other relations
within your community because the
message of accepting others for the
capabilities rather than the
disabilities is indeed the greatest
school of humanity my little brother’s
my sister’s is NMM parents join me in
the support mission but we cannot see it
without your assistance we must all
continue to open our minds
open our worlds open our hearts for
others to emulate for the sake everyone
in this room for everyone in the state
and for everyone in this great country
thank you and may God bless america [Applause]