Making Our Dreams Come True
Printed in the Republican in 2018
Carrie Writes
Making Our Dreams Come True
Carrie Barrepski
Many people think of disabilities as an obstacle that cannot be overcome. The stereotype is that they are defined by their disability rather than their abilities. I always believed that my disability is a part of me that does not stop me from living my life.
One teenager who was born deaf does not let her hearing loss stop her. Autumn Greenlee is 18 years old. As a child, she received a cochlear implant, which helped her gain a sense of music. As a third grader, she began playing the violin and eventually switched to the viola. Autumn has learned and played music from feeling vibrations and muscle memory.
She mainly plays classical music and most recently she has been offered a music scholarship to the University of Colorado. Autumn feels that “what makes music meaningful isn’t how it sounds but it feels.” Autumn has also said that “I’m sure when I play my instrument it sounds very different to me than it sounds to somebody else.”
I can relate to Autumn because just like her, I use writing as my voice to fulfill my passion of helping others through my words, while Autumn uses music as her voice to express her feelings through the expression of music. Neither of us have let our disability define who we are or what we cannot do.