During the summer, I went to Maine to visit my grandparents. While I was there, I went to the beach. I usually don’t like going to beaches, because I can’t play in the water, or sand and be near to the area where my family would like to play. I wanted to have a time to play with my nephews, and also be able to have some fun in the sun with the rest of my family, and I knew from past experiences that this would not be possible at the beach.

My cousin Jason told us about a beach he knew of, and it wasn’t too far from his house. At first I didn’t want to go because I thought that I would have nothing to do, because beaches are usually not accessible to me, since I am in a wheelchair. Jason then told us about the beach wheelchairs that they had there. This made me want to know more about the beach. Once there, the lifeguard helped me transfer into the beach wheelchair. He explained that all Maine beaches had these chairs. He said the ADA said all state beaches needed to be accessible to everyone, even those in wheelchairs.

This made me stop and ponder about what the definition of the word accessible means to me. According to the dictionary, the word accessible means something that is easy to enter, reach, access, or use. I agree with this definition fully. I think that accessibility means that it’s easy to get around to any place that you want, so you can have more freedom. Go where you want to go, do what you want you to do, with very little obstacles in your way. I think that accessibility also means being able to enjoy yourself in the outdoors as well as indoors, being able to enjoy the natural environment, and not just the man made environment.

Just imagine, you are sitting in your living room, it’s a beautiful sunny day outside, and you want to go out for a walk in the nearby park. Then you stop and think, will I be able to get around in my wheelchair? If everything and place were accessible, I wouldn’t have to think about this anymore.

Acts like the ADA are trying to make this dream come true for all of us, but we still need to keep advocating for ourselves, and not just wait for others to do it for us.

Since I’ve been home, I have been investigating local state and county parks to see if they are being made accessible to everyone, like the ones in Maine are. Ontario Beach in Charlotte has obtained beach wheelchairs and almost all aspects of the park are accessible to me and my chair.

I plan on checking out more area beaches and see if they are complying. If not I plan to ask why!