As 2024 rolls away, it is still not playing out as I hoped it would. It is a different kind of year for me. Because of my brain injury, I plan and prepare for daily activities more than the average person.
Unexpected events can be hard for me to adjust to, sometimes even to the point of paralyzing me with fear. Still, I am learning God had different plans for me this year. Taking me out of my comfort zone and challenging me to grow as a person and as a writer. Most of us have a healthy fear of the unknown.
- Unpredictable
- Scary
- Out of our control
After my accident, my life drastically changed and I had no idea what to expect of my new normal. Nor did my doctors and therapists know how I would live, because as our motto goes, “Every brain injury is different. “
Divergence
Growing up as an Army brat, I was used to being different, every few years I had to change schools, homes, and friends. It’s no wonder I enjoyed college so much and being around people from different cultures. However, my accident took being different to another level for me; I live as a divergent of a normal person.
Divergence is a deviation from a course or standard. It means a process of a person doesn’t work in typical ways. The reason why there was so much uncertainty about me after my accident is the doctors performed a risky operation to remove the right side of the frontal lobe of my brain; this caused my brain to rewire itself and diverge from the typical neural pathways.
My brain injury changes the way every process of my body works. Every function both voluntary and involuntary is altered from the normal process. As an example, I have to consciously think about swinging my left arm when I walk and I have to consciously think about moving my left leg also.
That is how my TBI affects me; however, each brain injury comes with its own challenges and uniqueness, because each brain injury truly is different.
Different
The name of this column reflects persons of different abilities, the mindset is we are not less than healthy individuals, we just have different abilities. Persons with brain injuries like me may function differently only than other people, but we are no less human; even if some may think so.
We may think and function differently, but we still live, breathe, and bleed like everyone else. Having a brain injury makes me part of the neurodivergent community. This community’s brains receive, process, and filter information in a nontypical fashion. Below are some common diagnoses of the neurodivergent community.
- ADHD
- Autism
- Dyslexia
- Dyspraxia
- Dyscalculia
- Dysgraphia
- Tourette Syndrome
- Intellectual disabilities
- Bipolar disorder
- Social anxieties
- Traumatic brain injuries
Living with a brain injury for 26 years has taught me to understand and accept different people and lifestyles. As writers, we don’t have the same goals, skills, or paths to success.
I often find myself looking at the success of other writers and feeling inadequate or overcome with disappointment because my writing journey isn’t the same as my writing friends’.
It is easy to get discouraged when we view our differences as roadblocks to success. Instead, we need to learn to celebrate our unique writing journey, skills, and success.
Celebrate
Next month brain injury survivors around the world will celebrate Brain Injury Awareness Month to shed light on brain injury awareness and to celebrate our uniqueness and successes.
We have learned to celebrate the small victories in life. The road to recovery is traveled one small step at a time. My first big success after my accident was learning how to feed myself without the aid of a nurse.
Don’t get me wrong it didn’t feel simple at the time; it was all I could do to keep the food from falling out of my mouth while I ate. Every brain injury comes with its difficulties and successes.
As writers, we each have different strengths and different weaknesses, I don’t know a writer who doesn’t have an area in their skills that they are trying to improve. Writing success and progress looks different for each of us, below are some common steps writers must take on their writing journey.
- Blogging
- Starting a newsletter
- Getting bylines
- Growing their platform
- Growing the social media
- Acquiring an agent
- Signing a book contract
Each step takes a writer closer to their writing dream; learn to celebrate each success, no matter what the size. Take the time to grow as a writer and process what you learn.
Neurodivergent persons may see and process things differently, but that doesn’t mean they can’t celebrate the progress. Sometimes all I can hope for is a good day when I don’t wake up feeling confused or depressed.
Writers don’t have to wait to celebrate when they get published, we can also celebrate simply meeting our writing goal for the day. Even our daily writing goals can be divergent!
Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at MartinThomasJohnson.com and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.
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