What Traveling With Cerebral Palsy Has Taught Me About Kindness
Illustration by Jon Adams
At first, the stress of the airport security line didn’t faze me.
I was traveling alone from my hometown of Los Angeles to Portland, Oregon in the late morning. Harsh fluorescent lights shone above the crowd, shuffling obediently in near silence toward a row of X-ray machines guarded by a gruff TSA officer. Although it buzzed with intimidation, it wasn’t unfamiliar.
I was born with cerebral palsy to parents who met in the travel industry, and our family tree has branches that stretch from Vancouver to New York and Kingston to Manila. We often boarded planes for reunions and vacations, and somewhere along the way, we discovered that the physical toll of terminals would disappear if I ordered a wheelchair with my boarding pass.
So as I rolled through security, I felt the confidence that comes with repetition. Until I got to the front of the line and wasn’t able to take off my shoes.
