Aimee Mullins: "My 12 pairs of legs" hits home

Listening to Mullins talk was motivating and hit home personally for me in a way.  This talk reminded me of my godmother because she can relate to Aimee Mullins life regarding her disability.  My godmother, for years, had fought cancer and unfortunately had to deal with the continuance of its return.  The cancer was always found to be growing in the joint in her hip.  When they had to originally remove the cancer, the first time around, it caused her to have a shorter leg on that side than the other.  This right here was an inconvenience because she now had to permanently use crutches and purchase special shoes, one having a slightly higher heel to it than the other.  A few years ago, when the cancer returned once again, the decision was made to completely amputate her leg.  Today she is very independent.  As a family, we do not look at her as woman with a disability.  She does not yet have a prosthetic leg but she continuously uses her crutches, her wheel chair, and her enthusiasm for life to assist her in getting around.

Aimee Mullins reminded me of my aunt because, like Aimee, when people meet my aunt their first comments are regarding how beautiful she is.  I have never once, in my 22 years of living, seen this woman with a frown on her face.  She has an indescribable glow about her and positive perspective on life that you don't see in most people.  As much physical and emotional pain that my aunt has had to endure in her life, I have never once heard her complain.  She is witty, intelligent, and inspiring.  Whenever something goes wrong in my life I think of her and how it could be worse.  So when listening to Aimee Mullins TedTalk about her "12 pairs of legs" it made me think of how I perceive my aunt.  I have never once thought of her as a woman with a disability, but more so as one of the strongest woman I know.

My favorite part of her speech was one of her last sentences, "It is our humanity and all the potential within it that makes us beautiful."  This saying perfectly describes my aunt and I am going to share this video of Mullins talk with her.