Alec Tranel

At six, Alec lost the use of his legs but was determined to make the most out of it. Now a teen, Alec shares his inspirational story with others.

If today were my last day on Earth and I could share 500 words of brilliance with the world, here are the important things I'd want to pass along to others...

I'd like to share some of the things that I've learned in my life so far that may be valuable in thinking about overcoming obstacles.

FIRST - Surround Yourself With Positive People
There could be a lot of reasons for me to be negative. But, for as long as I remember, I have been surrounded by positive people. I focus on hanging around with people that are happy. It's easy for anyone to be negative. But if you surround yourself with positive people you find it's a lot more fun to be positive and make things happen!

SECOND- Stay Ahead of The World
I try to always stay ahead of the world around me the best I can. When I meet someone for the first time, I know they have questions about my chair. So they don't feel uncomfortable, sometimes I just answer their question before they ask it. Why am I in the chair? What happened? Then they can get their mind off my chair and on to other matters. Life is more positive and fun if you choose it to be. I choose to stay ahead positively.
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THIRD - Do Things Differently Than Others
My chair gives me the ability to stand out. I don't do things like most other people do. But I don't think of it as a negative. I play a lot of sports in my chair. 7 years ago, I joined the Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association or GLASA. At GLASA I actually feel normal. I play basketball and tennis about 9 months out of the year. I have also tried water skiing, sled hockey, floor hockey, track and swimming. My family even made a Spring Break trip to Breckenridge Colorado so I could do adaptive skiing for a whole week. The best part was, on my first try, I beat my Dad down the hill. My latest sport is skateboarding but I cannot skate like everyone else. If I wanted to hang with my friends, I had to think of another way to skateboard. ; So, I sit on the board and I kneel on foam with my legs strapped together. I wear gloves and a helmet. I am not that good but it is fun to just sit and watch everyone else do tricks and have them give me pointers.

I think doing things differently than others makes life a lot more interesting!

I think if you sit around and feel sorry for yourself because you can't do things the same way everyone else does, you will go nowhere fast. If you have positive parents, friends, coaches and role models, all you can do is succeed. You have to use your brain often to keep coming up with ways to stay ahead of world that has 2 legs that work. I accept that I am not perfect but I still have to try to do my best with what I do have.