To My Girlfriend, When She Says She 'Can't Walk Right'

“I can’t walk right,” my girlfriend says.

“I’m too different,” my girlfriend says.

“I’m not beautiful,” my girlfriend says.

I think you are the most beautiful person on the inside and out. You may not be able to walk “right” and you may be different. That’s because you have cerebral palsy. But for the rest of my days, I’m going to say the exact same words to you. “I love you!”

The day I got that friend accept from you, I was so eager to get to know you. You became one of my best friends. The very day you told me you’ve never been on a date, I knew I wanted to be the one to change that. Nothing was going to stop me from traveling across the country to take you on a date.

You didn’t ask to have cerebral palsy and I know there are some days you hate it. But I will always love you for you, cerebral palsy and all. There was nothing I saw about you that made me not want to be your boyfriend. In fact, I felt you walked like hot wheels. But you could have fallen down or lost your balance a million times and I would have never lost my patience with you once. I will pick you up and get you back to balance every time. I will do that for the rest of my days with you because I love you more than anything!

I didn’t know much about cerebral palsy until I met you. But when I met you, I learned that like every other disability, it’s part of what makes you the person you are — the person I love. I don’t care how many times you say “I can’t walk right” and I don’t care if you ever can “walk right.” It makes you beautiful on the inside and out! You are my soul mate, my everything, and my best friend. I love you to the moon and back, pain and all, cerebral palsy and all.