//------------------------------//
// 21: Staccato 
// Story: Rez: Eqstr[Tera] 
// by NiGHTcapD 
//------------------------------//

I am nervous.
"You sure?"
"I have utmost faith you'll do well."
"Well...I guess I can't argue with that. Wish me luck."
"Good luck."
Well then. Nothing for it but to get out on stage...oh, right. Probably should explain myself, it's expected by now that I keep you all informed. I'm scheduled for today as a guest speaker at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, with the intended topic of skills and disabilities and the relationship between them. Eden knows I have both of those in spades...the issue here might be in getting my point across, as I haven't planned out a speech. But then, I've given plenty of typed-out information dumps off the top of my head before with no editing, so I guess I have the skills needed to perform correctly. The real question may as well be "how did I get roped into this" and the answer...well...for once I'm not explaining it to you. Heh heh heh.
Regardless of all shenanigans, it's lecture time. One last self-reminder: I'm speaking to children of various ages. I need to keep the complexity level down.

I recorded it. That wasn't so bad, especially in hindsight. Here's a transcription.





So, um. Where to start?
Well, I'm honored to be up here, lecturing about my forte...despite it not really being magic. Funny how that works, but I'm not up here to reflect on the irony. Technically I'm not up here myself at all, but that's besides the point.
The point is actually something you've probably already heard before. Every single one of you is special, let no one tell you different. The issue is...not everyone is equally good at everything that isn't marked, and some of you are easily defined as having a disability. This means that something, physical or mental, is more than a bit lacking. I should know; I have one or two myself.
The solution? Depends on the problem. It's not exactly easy to pin down the right thing to say or do about problems like this, and you can't usually outright "fix" them per se. Not without a good amount of work going into it.
What I do know is that there is no one way to deal with issues like these: You can power through them if they get in the way. Not the easiest thing to do, but a rewarding solution for those determined enough to go through with it. You can sidestep them by doing things that won't cause the disability to get in the way. You don't need all your legs to write, you don't need amazing social skills to make art with, there's a job out there that doesn't need what you can't provide. These are all well and good ways to deal with problems that would get in the way of life.
Of course, that's assuming it was ever a problem in the first place. If you don't have it, whatever "it" is for you, you have to wonder if it was ever important to you in the first place. And in some cases, no. It most definitely isn't.
Important thing to note: often, a disability actually comes as a tradeoff-you get something for what you lost. Deaf folks can't hear, but they get better at "hearing" their environment through their eyes, which helps for reading lips or interpreting other visual cues in place of audio. Those with autism-a disability that affects one's social skills-tend to be very able to focus on their work, or be very intelligent in their given subject. Not every disability is like this, but it often helps to look for the good in the bad.
Or maybe...just maybe...the issue is that you think it's a disability in the first place. In some cases, it's actually an enabler, something that lets you do something no one else can do nearly as well as you do it. This...this is what I personally believe all impairments secretly are. Not something to be fought; instead something to be used.
Personal example: I'm blind, or at least, I was born such. I can't normally receive visual input from the world, though that doesn't mean I can't visualize things. Without going into the scientific, what I get in return is that I "see" things better from hearing them move or talk, kind of like nocturnal creatures with echolocation. Granted, I had the issue fixed; I didn't need to, but an opportunity came up and I took it. But even now that I have artificial eyes, I tend to keep them turned off when I don't need them. My body is just so used to not seeing with them, that I'm often better off without.
My usual lack of sight sounds like an issue, but it is because of my blindness-and the benefits thereof-that makes me so good at what I do. In my field of work, what matters is being able to keep up with data flow. Most have to rely on sight, but can't focus on everything at once as they come up. Excuse me for tooting my own horn for a bit longer here, but my brain can keep up with the speed of information. My eyes can't, and wouldn't even if I had them in the first place, keep up. Audio has always been my strong suit, though. It's for these reasons I've never considered my disability to be anything less than a blessing.
I think I've covered just about every point I came here to talk about today, though I do have one last question for you all. Do you like music? (laughs can be heard, followed by a positive response) I knew you would. I personally love music, it's the only art form I can really lose myself in without even thinking about the analysis of it. In fact, I know a song that reiterates, and simplifies, my lecture here. You'll have to listen carefully to the lyrics, but Scatman John-the singer-tells it better than I could ever hope to. If you need me to explain it, I'll be here after the fact to take questions on the whole thing, but for now-enjoy.