- They told my mom, "Look, we give her five,
"maybe six years tops to be able to live."
My story is embedded in who I am.
And so when you look at me, what do you see?
My eyes, right?
I was born with diastrophic dysplasia dwarfism,
which is one of the rarest forms.
And then to complicate the matters even more,
I was also born with scoliosis.
At birth, the doctors told my mom,
"Look, we've got to talk to you.
"Your baby, her spine is curved.
"It's curved to such a degree that we're sure
"that it's going to collapse her lungs and her heart."
They told my mom, "Look, we give her five,
"maybe six years tops to be able to live."
I remember hearing this growing up, and it terrified me.
I remember going to bed often just with tears
rolling down my face, trying to understand why this life?
I have this disability that sets me apart from everybody,
and then on top of that I might die from it?
And I just remember every night, terrified,
wondering if I'm gonna wake up next morning.
But I remember I was maybe at around six, seven,
I remember thinking to myself,
Monique, you've got a choice to make.
You can either succumb to your situation,
you can really take what the doctors have said
and just live each day in fear,
or you can overcome this.
You can live each day that you have
with happiness, with joy.
It's your choice.
And that's exactly what I do every single day.
Now, is it a walk in the park?
Not at all.
There are days I wake up, and I'm like, ugh, this again?
There are days that I wake up and I,
it's like reality just slaps me in the face
that I'm here in this body.
And I have challenges.
Can you imagine wanting something to drink
and not being able to get a glass of water?
Not because you're in a third world country,
but for me, I simply can't reach it.
Can you imagine growing up and having three younger sisters
grow to be taller than you?
Can you imagine watching all of my sisters
go outside and ride a bike?
And a lot of times I would just sit at the window sill
as a kid and just wish I could do that.
I really desired to be a representation
of those who are cast aside,
especially those within the disability community.
Everyone assumes that you are just a leech,
that you need so much help,
that you are taking up tax dollars,
that we should just all be in a facility
and just cast aside.
But today, I'm happy to say my resume shows
that anything is possible.
I went on to graduate from high school with a 4.0 GPA
and then went onto college,
even though many people said that I couldn't do it.
I did it anyway.
Then I went on to law school.
I went to law school so that I can be
someone who represents those who
get the short end of the stick like me.
And so, until the day that I die,
I will overcome challenges.
I will overcome anything that's thrown my way.
I enjoy life.
I have hobbies.
I paint.
I sing.
I speak.
I love to travel.
I just enjoy life, just like you.
I love life because of who I am.
And I'm glad that I've survived.