By JESSICA EVANSPhoto taken of me by a friend, Nicole Boucher, on a school trip to Scotland.Being Jewish, disabled and from an Irish heritage has taught me a lot about perceptions. I cherish being Jewish, being part of a sacred minority. I love how being Jewish has changed how I see the world and has taught me a lot about world perceptions about people and countries. To be Jewish is to not only be the only Jew a lot of people know in their lives and to be a representative- whether you may want to be or not of Israel. With that comes all the stereotypes that the world has projected onto Jews- both the good and the bad. Being disabled comes with a lot of baggage.Being disabled with a non-visible disability means I can pass for abled bodied and neuro-typical when in fact I am not. It has taught me a lot about how we view and treat those with disabilities, how we think about them and how we talk about others when they are not around. Being Irish has been a joy to me. Something I have always been proud of. I love being Irish and I love to learn more about my heritage there. Of course there are other heritages mixed in, but Irish is predominate. Being Irish on days like St. Patrick day has taught me a lot about how we view other cultures and how easy it is to erase in our minds how we have treated others in the past.Being human has taught me about the good and bad of others and life. People can treat you well or they may treat you bad. They are a mix of how they chose to react and what has happened to them. Their past, present and future twirl in front of you in a marvelous temporary, fleeting form. In the people we love, we see good and we see what we wish to be. We see all the things we could aim to be. In those we do not get along with, we see things we do not wish to see. We see the shape our own mortality. I think that somewhere in between is where we each live. Or perhaps, where I live. I live in a mixture of so many things. I am my ancestors, my adopted Sinai ancestors, and what has happened to me. I am a mixture of current woes, current joys and current uneasiness. I am a mixture of what could be, what I could be and what I will not be. If you see me at face value, if you strip me of any of these things, I become less. I become someone other than myself. Do not make me someone else. Do not reduce me to who I could be or who I was. Love me for all that I am, have been and will be. Perceive in me these things and you see my true form.You are a mixture of these things too. To rob you of any of these things is to rob you of your beauty. I promise to work at seeing you better. I promise to not reduce you to a costume or stereotype. If I fail, my friend, remind me.
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