All I ever wanted was to be normal.
A normal secondary school. A normal degree. A normal flat. A normal office job.
It did not come easily. Whether I was trying to get into mainstream education or looking for an internship, I was often turned down. My wheelchair was inconvenient. My disability a challenge. There was doubt everywhere. Could I handle the level? What about the pace? Rarely was I asked. More often, the answers were decided for me. What I would have wanted was a simple question: what do you need to be able to participate?
I felt as though no one looked beyond my disability. As if it determined that I had no talent. As if it was my entire identity. No matter how hard I tried to be normal, I never met that definition in the eyes of others.
Painful.
But that is also where the strength lies. Because what matters is participation. Inclusion in education. In the workplace. In society. And that requires a different definition of normal. What is that definition, exactly? Who decides it? And how can I have a say in that myself?
That is precisely what Kemai Coaching does: helping people with a multicultural background and a disability to take back control. So that you can contribute to widening what normal looks like. And make full use of your talents.