Paul Martin

My name is Paul Martin. I am 20 years old, and I have lived in Calgary for my whole life. I like baseball, curling, bowling, golf, computers, and music. We had a hedgehog named Raffi for five years; but he passed away 3 years ago.

I have Cerebral Palsy, but it is not severe. It affects my left side, especially my left leg.I am not as mobile or flexible as most people. My left leg is shorter that my right one, and I can't turn my left foot out. This makes it difficult to play speed and running sports, such as soccer, basketball and hockey. Also, I am not as strong as others my age. Rough-and-tumble activities such as football and wrestling were very difficult. I did not like Gym class in school.

As time went on, I learned to adapt and focus on other areas. Whenever we would play soccer in Gym, I would be the goalie, or I would pitch when playing baseball. I tried other less physical sports, like golf, bowling and curling, which I really enjoy. I also focused more on academics. I worked hard in High School, and joined some clubs, such as Model Parliament. I was on the Honor Roll for three years, and I won some scholarships for post-secondary education. I realized that I should not let my disability affect who I am.

One of the accomplishments that I am most proud of is finishing a two-year diploma in Computer Technology from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) in April 2002. It was a lot of hard work and sacrifice, and very gratifying when I finished. It seems even better when there were people that I knew who did not finish the course. Another accomplishment that I have achieved is winning the Rutherford Scholarship for three years. I also came in third place in a provincial 5-pin team bowling tournament, even though I was on a team, and I didn't necessarily do as good as my teammates; it still is a good achievement.

My future plans are fairly simple. I would like to be a web designer or programmer someday. I hope to be independent, with my own house. I would like to travel up north, especially to Alaska and see the sights. Finally, I would like to continue curling with the team that I'm on.