Next time you start feeling sorry for yourself, think about Brittany Gaines. Then shut your pie hole. 

While other kids this month are preparing to receive their high school diplomas, the 23-year-old Shingle Springs resident earned hers back in March, something she would’ve done at an earlier age if she didn’t have the hassle that comes with, you know, being a legally blind quadriplegic who’s unable to speak without great difficulty. 

Disclosure: I’ve known this remarkable young lady for several years. Her dad, Bill, is a wildlife conservation lobbyist. He’s also a friend and a fishing partner (which means I make him pay for fuel whenever we go out). Her mom, Wanda, owns a line of outdoor women’s apparel. An older sister, Brooke, dotes on Brittany, kidding with her as much as caring for her.

 Brittany hoped to graduate from her public high school back in 2011. And while I could explain what happened, it’s only fitting that, like everything else in her life, Brittany does it herself. In an email exchange, she said, “The school wasn’t accessible for my needs, both physically and academically. I dreamed of graduating with my friends, but the school district wanted me to settle for a certificate instead of a diploma.”  

As anyone who knows her can attest, the word “settle” doesn’t really work for Brittany. This is an active girl: she loves boating with her family, goes hunting with her dad, and stays up late attending every country concert that rolls through town. So, in 2010 she withdrew from that school and enrolled instead in the Hadley School for the Blind, a correspondence school in Chicago. It wasn’t easy—and by not easy I mean the difference between hiking up a small hill and climbing Everest in a blizzard, strapped to a motorized wheelchair. Even though academically she only had two years left, earning that coveted diploma took four. 

But she did it—with a 3.8 GPA to boot. 

Why was she so determined? “Because I knew I could do it,” she fairly roared in her email back to me. I’m surprised she didn’t punctuate it with an all-caps DUH. “I have all of the same goals and desires as any other 23-year-old. I want to be successful, and a productive member of society. I want to be independent and live on my own.”  

What’s next? More goals. More dreams to follow through on. “I plan on going to college and studying to be a counselor for students like myself.” I was going to write that she hopes to be enrolled in Folsom Lake College this fall, but she will be. I have zero doubt.  

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a cruel cage of a disease. It keeps its victims locked inside themselves. I knew a guy in college with CP. John Jankey. He was lucky. He could walk, but only with much difficulty. A 4.0 engineering student, he was also a surprisingly deadly pool shark and possessed a wicked sense of humor, often wearing a shirt that said “Help, I’m trapped inside a human body.” And that’s exactly what CP is like. But what people like him, or like Brittany can’t do physically, they can still do mentally. And they do, with a determination few could ever understand. 

  It’s funny how those of us blessed with all the good health in the world can be such a whiny bunch, while those with actual, bona fide reasons to gripe, complain and…settle…rarely do anything of the sort. I’m impatient if I have to wait too long at a red light. Brittany gets frustrated with “everyday needs, like eating, grooming, restrooms, etc.”  

Suddenly that red light isn’t such a big deal.

People like her are the best of us. All of us should aspire to be the kind of dreamers, doers and fighters that they are. That she is.

So, since we’re lucky enough, let’s all unclench our pie holes for a moment and say a prayer of thanks for our good fortune. Let’s think about Brittany, and yes, let’s cheer her on. But we should also let her inspire us, because she’s the kind of person who shows the rest of us what’s truly possible. 

If only we refuse to settle.

Catch Tom on the Pat and Tom Morning Show on New Country 105.1, email him at [email protected], or follow him on Twitter @kncitom. Photo by Dante Fotana.