Our last speaker was Christina Lau. Christina is suffering from spinal cord injury from a car accident, and her body from her chest and below are paralysed. After a presentation on her life, Christina gave powerful responses to questions, presenting insights on the current relationship between the community and the disabled.

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North: This session had made me aware of the lack of our knowledge and understanding about the disabled. This might be causing many issues the disabled currently face, being rejected to be employed by companies just because they have a disability, as an example Christina had explained. Many people might view the disabled as “needing a lot of help”, as Christina had mentioned she used to before the accident.

“But they [the disabled] can actually be strong enough to live their own life.”

However by meeting and listening to Christina, I was surprised with how “strong” they might actually be.

“I accept how others see me, and I don’t mind.”

In fact, by undergoing hardship and having experiences other won’t usually experience, the disabled might be way more “stronger” in their mental aspects, I thought.

South: Our current unit is: “Telling stories”. As mentioned above, I was very surprised on Christina’s perspectives on the world as a disabled person. It had made me realise that the disabled might not be what I imagine to be, as that to really understand other people, you must interact and talk with them. This connects with what we have been learning in this unit, about the significance of the storyteller’s perspectives on a writing piece.

East: Christina was very “strong”, and her positive views on life had really inspired me.

“If you want, don’t keep saying that you can’t. Try. Only try whether to know if you can of not.”

This was Christina’s response to a question on her mental health after the accident. Christina had first went through depression and struggled with her “baby steps” in restarting her life. But soon, with support from her family and willingness to challenge herself with new experiences, she started to pursue her career on mouth painting and table tennis, which she had never done before.

“I really got a lot of things after the accident.”

I must look at the positive aspects in order to gain from losses. Failing an exam → Know that I would need to harder for next time. Moving schools → Meeting new people. Turn it over, change your view, and a “loss” will become a “gain”. Christina’s talk had really inspired me and changed my negative views on losses to a more positive one.

West: I would’ve liked to ask Christina about what the disabled actually want for us to do. There are many charity events hosted by organisations such as fund raising, donations, etc., but are those want the disabled truly want?