I am very fortunate and blessed to have people supporting me in my life. Support comes form the usual expected places..my family and friends and sometimes from the least expected places. Thinking on this assignment, I thought about the ranges of the different types of support that are available. These supportive resources can be emotional, tangible, informational and companionship, this list is not exclusive as other types of support mechanisms exist.
My parents are my support system, I know I can count on them for any and everything from day one. Therefore, from my support system I am given emotional support, my definition of this is when I am offered empathy, concern, affection, love, trust, acceptance, intimacy, encouragement. When I am provided with emotional support, I know that I am being valued. I am also given is tangible support, with the provision of financial assistance and material goods. Being so far away from home and not having access to many food items I wish I could have on a daily basis, I rely on my parents to send items all the way to Japan, which is far form cheap! Lastly, I rely on informational support, which I define as advice, guidance and suggestions, I am guided daily by words of encouragement, my mom may send me a text message of encouraging words at the time it is needed and we speak to each other as much as possible and she continually encourages me.
For the challenge, I choose disability, specifically not being able to walk. I can only imagine the world for persons who are disabled. My view is that if I were ever to be crippled, my parents would encourage me to not let being a wheelchair define my disability. I know I would have the love and support I need to get through the bad days and the days where I might feel like giving up. I don't want to think about the impact of not having this support system, honestly.
