I write this to share with you my vision, values, methods, obstacles and measures for 2017. This is a personal deep dive into what I believe in, the obstacles that will stand in my way from achieving my goals, and how I will show I have been successful. This is me being vulnerable and sharing my story. The easiest of these categories for me to write was the obstacles. There are so many doubts that could potentially stand in my way from achieving my goals. I want you to remember that yes there are more  roadblocks, but you must learn to overcome these challenges to obtain what you desire.

What does 2017 look like for you?

Vision

My vision for 2017 includes traveling for the first time internationally using a wheelchair and spread FSH awareness internationally, continue to deep dive at work while growing my network and establishing deeper relationships with my coworkers, and give my time through volunteering in the community to help build a more rollable/walkable Atlanta.

Values

FUN

I’ve got many fun adventures planned for 2017 and I believe it is important to enjoy life regardless of your disability or ability. Taking life to seriously and forgetting to explore the world  while I can is not a rut I want to get myself into.

TRUST

I value being honest and transparent in life and work. Peers, family and friends depend on me and I have to remain committed to them and show them I can be a resource of assistance and love.

TEAMWORK

I value synergy, learning from others and my own mistakes and building others up. In order to take on life and accomplish my goals, I must rely on other individuals to lend a helping hand. I also have to remember to be open to receiving help. I can’t tackle life on my own and must remember there is a strong support system behind me.

GROWTH

As my physical strength continues to decline, I value learning how to achieve greatness despite my obstacles. Leaning from others is an incredible opportunity and I believe in the power of sharing this wealth of knowledge. In order to grow, I value staying grounded remembering those who helped to build me.

Methods/Measures

• Become a WHILL Ambassador for the Model M wheelchair and showcase it to the world and complete by the end of February
• File a class action lawsuit with the city of Atlanta for failure to maintain #equalAccess of sidewalks
• Take on our 3rd Reebok Spartan Race in March via piggyback
• Apply to the Administrative Board of Directors for the FSH Society in hopes of being the youngest board member by May
• Travel Europe for 10 days in April with a previous coworker from Apple
• Take the Piggyback Adventure crew up Mt. Kilimanjaro by October
• Make a documentary about Piggyback Adventures, conquering FSH muscular dystrophy, overcoming barriers, and working on a team of family and friends and submit it to Sundance film festival and Netflix for EOY 2017 submissions
• Expand my consumption of various herbal teas to provide a wholistic healing approach to my health
• Begin to learn Japanese and enroll in a class
• Become a Salesforce Certified Administrator by May
• Have lunch with 30 new individuals at work by the EOY to  build a trusting relationship with my coworkers and grow my network
• Continue to be the top new-hire onboarding ambassador for all of Salesforce and bring positivity into the workplace
• Strengthen my relationship with God and dive daily into the word
• Visit the park on a regular basis
• Open up to others by sharing my vulnerabilities
• Remember to live in the present

Obstacles

• Once my WHILL ambassadorship is over, I know I won’t want to go back to my scooter. It means I have to accept the fact I need a more durable chair to do the things I want to do and being 100% reliant on a device is a hard pill to swallow for someone who is very independent.  As WHILL currently isn’t covered by insurance, finding the funds ($10k) to purchase one seems near impossible for a single individual.
• Finding time to roll around the city of Atlanta and take pictures of bad sidewalk and report them takes up a lot of my free time. Sometimes also it feels like a black hole as I don’t always see the change right away and also it just never ends. I am just 1 individual going around the city and reporting areas that need improvement and this often seems daunting.
• Filing a lawsuit takes time and energy and I feel I won’t have the patience for possibly a 2-3 year lawsuit. Also, finding other individuals who want to testify with me is difficult as I feel no one wants to help or has a story to share. This is just me not putting trust into my lawyer which is not such a good idea.
• The Reebok Spartan race opens up the door to potential near hypothermia as I got my first year. It is also exhausting holding onto someone for 5 miles and runs the risk of tearing muscle fiber which is not good for my condition.
• Traveling internationally will be a first since getting a wheelchair. I traveled to Boston and my scooter was damaged on the plane. I am concerned my chair will get damaged in route and will have difficulties getting around. I also do not know how accessible Europe is and since I plan on visiting many historical monuments, many of these are not accessible.
• Mt. Kilimanjaro is 19,400 feet and I am worried about my a ability to prepare for this height as I am unable to adequately train for this elevation. I am concerned with the technical aspects of the trail as it is unknown territory and it being unsafe to climb. When hiking the trail, we had new friends join us for day hikes, this won’t be the case as everyone who starts will or won’t finish. There are no day hikers on this adventures, thus I am worried that the people carrying me won’t have adequate enough rest in between carries. I worry about the accessibility in Africa, traveling across the world and the cost of the trip.
• The producer that is leading our documentary lives across the country so finding times to film poses a challenge. Getting funding for the film and sponsors is all new territory for me as I don’t know this network of individuals. What if no one wants to watch our documentary or we end up losing money from it?
• As I explore new and different herbal teas, I do not know if my body is allergic to them or not or how it will react. I have a sensitive digestive system and do not want to disrupt it.
• Learning a new language is difficult and it is easy to give up. Kanji has thousands of symbols and learning all of them will be a challenge. It will take thousands of hours to dedicate learning a  new language and it can be put on the back burner if I do not stay dedicated to it. Also not having anyone around me as a native speaker to practice speaking poses a roadblock.
• Taking the Salesforce Certified Administrator exam for work will be a challenge as I do not have a good history of test taking. I failed my Pardot specialist exam 2x prior, thus why I am concerned this stress will happen again. Finding time to study for this exam and stay focused is not easy for me.
• Finding enough time and scheduling lunch with individuals is harder than one would think. I worry I am being too ambitious for this goal. Also opening up to coworkers on a deeper personal level is challenging as I don’t want to overstep and work/personal boundaries.
• Remembering that being an on boarding ambassador is not my primary role or what I get paid to do at work, it’s volunteer. I have to remember to keep a work/volunteer balance and also not burn myself out by striving to be the best.
• I have to make it a priority to dive into the word of God and often times I get too caught up in reality and forget what’s important. I worry that as my church is moving locations and Marta buses don’t travel over there that I will fall out of the loop at church.
• It rains often in Georgia and I have to take a train and roll 0.5 miles to get to the park. Distance and weather brings potential challenges.
• Living in the present is difficult for someone who wants to do some much and plan various adventures.

(Written by Travis Walters)

Hailing from the beautiful, always hot, and mostly sunny British Virgin Islands, I am Travis Walters, a 21 year old junior at Georgia State University. Nice to meet you all and thank you for reading my story!

Where do I start? What can I even say? Well, let’s start with the sunny side of things…There has never been a time in my life, academically, where I have failed to reach any goal I have set for myself. Having graduated as valedictorian from my high school, the expectations and standards I have set for myself, by which others continuously foresee, has definitely been a motivating factor for me to continue to put my best foot forward and be successful at whatever I put my mind to.

In essence, school has always been something I have been good at – even now, with a current cumulative GPA of 4.01. With such great achievements, why do I still not feel fulfilled? Isn’t education key? Isn’t this what all kids do – go to school and get good grades? What more can I do even though I feel like I am doing the most?

That’s where passion comes in.

After graduating high school, I realized that although I was a scholar, school was never my passion. It was at that time, I decided to take a year off from continuing my education to find what my passion really was. I knew my talents; I knew I could sing; I knew I was an entertainer. I had been performing in my hometown for a couple years now, at local talent shows and music festivals but I have always wanted more. I always wanted to spread my wings and fly pass the 24 square miles I call “home”!

With continuous work and dedication toward my craft, my efforts had been realized and that is what brought me to Atlanta, Georgia initially. Through a talent competition, I was scouted by music executives to move to Atlanta to undergo a 6-month artist development program. Throughout my 6-month tenure in Atlanta, by way of trial and error, I definitely learned first hand the behind the scenes of the music business and all the work it takes to become an artist.

Building off what I had learnt, I returned back home to the Virgin Islands after six months to perform in front of my friends, family, fans and most importantly, record labels. By the end of the night, I was offered a record deal. At that moment, music was my passion so as you would expect, I accepted!

What followed my acceptance was the unexpected part!

After battling back and forth for months through lawyers, in efforts to ensure both parties of the contract were satisfied, it was finally signed! After the signing, what happened was…wait, NOTHING! I was shelved! All my dreams, aspirations and creative efforts directed towards becoming this HUGE international superstar were ultimately drained by all this “please sign, initial, read paragraph, subparagraph” nonsense that had been going on for months.

I had finally seen the music industry for what is really was…a BUSINESS! Music was no longer my passion. After being so broken, I reverted right back to what I knew best – school! I continued my education by first attending community college in my hometown to now being enrolled at Georgia State.

But I am still not fulfilled! I can feel that I am capable of more; I know I am! I have always been the type to be good at every little thing. Since having moved to Atlanta, in addition to school, I have dabbled back into music through songwriting, I have made light of my talents in photography and videography, I have taken a seat at the creative director table and lastly, I have put my best shoes on and am now walking into the direction of wardrobe styling and fashion as a whole.

So, what is my passion? Out of all these things, what am I meant to do for the rest of my life? I have no idea!

All I can do is TRUST THE PROCESS!