User:Beyathesoccergirl

Hi there! I'm Beya, an athlete from Santa Barbara who's been on crutches since 2018.

In my sophomore year of high school, I broke my ankle, badly, while playing varsity soccer. When I first found out I needed multiple surgeries to repair my syndesmosis and would spend the next 2 years on crutches, I felt dejected - I thought I lost everything that mattered to me, including the prestigious IASAS soccer tournament.

Overtime, I had no choice but to become really good at swinging those crutches and realized they ironically gave me the ability to walk faster than my friends. This soon made me realize crutches and sports were not mutually exclusive.

I started attending workouts and practices with my team, and they figured out a plan to make sure I could stay fit. They even made me the team captain so I could be as involved and supported by the team as possible. In my last of high school, my team made it to the finals of the tournament. Never would I imagine that the league would go as far as allowing me to make a special appearance in the penalty shoot-outs, ON CRUTCHES! With my stocky Aircast boot, I scored the decisive goal for the team one last time on home soil - a goal that made me forever proud and honored.

When the doctor finally cleared me from using crutches at the end of 2020, I felt a strange reluctance to put them away - they had literally and metaphorically been my crutches for so long that I had long accepted them as part of my identity.

So I thought, "this is what makes me unique. Why should I change who I am?"

Since then, I have continued to use crutches and wear the boot by choice (although I can now put as much weight as I want on it,) while spreading awareness for the disabled who don't have the same choice I do.

In addition to soccer and advocacy, some of my other passions include reading, traveling, watching Netflix, collecting t-shirts / stickers, following sports, partying, and hanging out with friends.

Sometimes, I do admit that I get a lot of attentions and special privileges like the elevator, and I frankly don't hate them! On the flip side, though, there are many people who know me as "THE girl on crutches", or "the cripple", as my friends fondly refer to me by this microaggressive nickname.

I will be attending UCLA, as a member of the Class of 2025, studying human biology. I will continue to use crutches in college and at the same time convince more of my friends, injured or not, to join the cause. So far, Kayla, Maria, Izi, and Erika, 4 of my besties who all hurt their ankles this year to different severity, have all started using crutches on a permanent basis, along with over a dozen kids in our school. Some of them stubbed their toes; some of them broken their knees and require a huge cast; others simply want to be on crutches for fun because so many of their friends are also on crutches... I often look back at those hilarious yearbooks photos of nearly everyone on crutches and just can't help but imagine how much we've been single-handedly driving up the demand and price for crutches in town :P (Yes, coming fresh out of AP Econ, I had to make that reference!)

Anyhow, I’m super excited to meet new people, explore new places, try new things, and see where my crutches will take me, literally and metaphorically. Who knows? Maybe the first NCAA soccer player on crutches!

This is basically me :)

I originally started this account to share my story and be a part of this truly special community, and I'm loving it so far! If you have any questions or want any tips on using crutches, please feel free to drop me a message on my talk page! Have a nice day <3

~Beya~