April is a pretty cool month for various reasons. It's the month I was born in, but that's not what I want to talk about. As you may or may not know, April is Autism Awareness Month and also Donate Life Month.
Today, I watched an inspiring video created by someone I met when I was in elementary school. His name is Nathan. When I think back to elementary school, I remember how seemingly difficult of a kid Nathan appeared to be. He used to get into trouble a lot. He didn't have many friends, if any at all. He was different. Kids were mean to him. I bet I was one of those kids that was mean to him too. (As a really irrelevant side note, I remember having a crush on Nathan in the fourth grade for a brief period of time and not ever telling anyone. Back then, that was my "dark" secret. And quite honestly, I hate that I was one of those people, because the Nathan of today has grown into a brilliant and accomplished young man.) Anyway, back to my point, up until today I never knew Nathan's story. Nathan has Asperger's syndrome, a type of autism. All of his peculiar quirks back in elementary school make sense now. One of the most interesting things about Nathan is his Sylvia, she's his service dog and his constant companion. She comes with him to school, which is something I find really remarkable because Nathan had to fight for her to be with him at school and to travel with him on the bus.
I know I've been really choppy with all of the information and that I've hardly mentioned much about autism. That is mainly because I have a lot to learn about autism and I wouldn't want to speak out of turn anymore than I already have. Plus, I can't tell Nathan's story better than he can. Without further ado, please follow this link to his inspirational YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=eGocr2dP7Po. And when you're done, PLEASE PASS IT ON to someone else so that they can see Nathan's story too. (And while you're at it, check out his other videos. The guy's freaking awesome.)
In addition to April being Autism Awareness Month, it is also Donate Life Month. This is something I can speak to a bit more. I am a transplant recipient, meaning that I have the fortunate second chance at life as well as the chance to live life for two people. Organ donation is an important issue to me because I wouldn't be here today if it didn't exist. People have all sorts of skepticism and fears about organ donation. I'm here to tell people to not be afraid of it. Learn about it. You could end up saving more than one life and that's one of the greatest things you can do. "Don't take your organs to Heaven. Heaven knows we need them here."
It is my wish that people learn to treat their bodies with more care and live their lives in a healthier manner. You think that you won't end up sick in the hospital needing an organ one day, but what if you do? I didn't know it would happen to me. Who's to say that it won't happen to you? You don't what curveball life is going to throw at you so take care of yourself.
For information on autism:
-http://www.autism-society.org/
-http://www.autismspeaks.org/
For information on organ donation:
-http://donatelife.net/
-http://www.organdonor.gov/index.html
two great causes!
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