Who we are, is what we do with what we have. Don’t give up and even if you think you can’t you can always dig deeper. The key to pushing beyond your limits is learning how to utilize your internal dialogue. If you embrace your fears, accept help from others, and allow your internal dialogue to work with you instead of against you, you will find life becomes limitless. Whenever I thought of quitting on rehabilitation, sled hockey and most importantly myself and my family, I would harness my fear of failure and use my internal dialogue as strength by saying to myself, if I quit I will allow myself to quit on anything difficult that comes my way ever again. My good friend and former professor here at UNH, Stephen Hardy lost his son, Nate, a Navy Seal to the war in Iraq. Nate had a motto that Stephen would often use in his classes which was “How you do anything is how you do everything.” I like to believe that we are all capable of living life like Nate lived his.   

 I now truly understand what it means to live and learn. I have learned that no one can achieve anything great or become a champion in life without teamwork and collaboration. I have learned to accept people for who they are and to help people find there hidden potential by the simple act of listening. I have not only had the opportunity compete in Paralympic sport but more importantly the opportunity give back to so many other people who have gone through extreme unexpected challenges both physical and psychological.