here & now
S o me T houg ht s o n Acc e ssi b i l i t y. . . “I grew up with an older brother who has cerebral palsy. From a young age, I saw another take on the world, second handedly experiencing the disregard from abled people to those who do not confine themselves to the 'norm'. You might think that there are benefits, such as being able to ride around in a wheelchair and getting someone to push you, skipping lines at tourist attractions or taking the elevator, but let me tell you the reality of 'accessibility' is not always accessible. It hurts when you are unable to participate in so many activities because you were not thought of. It is not fun to listen to the muffled voices and awkward conversations when someone asks 'what is wrong with you?' or 'what happened to you?' Growing up, I was so naive because my brother had masked all of these things so well. Last summer, my perspective of this world changed again, but this time I was in the driver’s seat. I suffered a Lisfranc injury among countless other fractures and breaks in my foot. I was injured as a student intern at an architecture practice based in Toronto. I worked out of the sight of the others, in the clustered scaffolding shelves with material swatches and other archives. Completely disregarded as fresh meat, this inexperienced Chinese boy coming to work at an award-winning practice was paid no attention. I was just another passer-by, easily forgettable and easy to take advantage of. Our communication ever since my injury has been dead. My recovery was longer than the average. Although it could not compare to living permanently with a mobility disability, I was able to see all the little things I took for granted. From daily activities such as waking up and walking to the bathroom, walking down a flight of stairs, showering, cooking, and even sleeping, you struggle so much trying to accomplish these seemingly simple tasks. You exert so much energy into everything you do and are constantly tired. Not to mention the change in perspective [of ] those around me, thinking that I have it too easy because I am getting help from others and not seeing how helpless I was feeling at the time. Right as the Fall academic term was to begin, I was told to seriously con27
