From then to now

Looking at my reflection today, i scan the lines drawn tighter across my body. It took me back momentarily to what I had seen in the mirror 2 years, 4 years, 6 years ago. I think about the variations I have seen looking back at me from the silver surface.

From a lofty, soft and ashamed boy to this! I like what I see...

I think back to the condition of my mind and body back then when mobility was only a dream, sometimes so hopelessly unrealistic. I remember going to bed those days seeking comfort in the darkness... weak, alone and insecure. I remember those first steps I took in the athletic stadium. I remember collapsing after 100 meters. I remember the shame that pierced my heart and the pain that seared across my flat feet. I remember what it felt like carrying all that useless weight around like a liability. It wasn't a pleasant feeling.

Body and mind, in my case were and still are in perfect synchrony. My thoughts and emotions were just as lofty as my steps. I remember the burning desire to change, to run, to question. I remember the struggle and the anguish and the ecstasy that I felt finding my answers and breaking my own limits.

1 km, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and still counting... From a closed, scared, ashamed boy to who I see today looking me in the eye. I won't stop.

I won't stop loving life, embracing myself each day, placing another limit in front of me and watch it shattering to dust. I feel the tendons, harder against my skin, the veins emerging like a river that is gushing with life. I feel my smile.