A Journey With Cerebral Palsy

There would be a few hours to occupy before playing golf at Palouse Ridge. Driving out of the golf course after scheduling to play in the early afternoon, it was still mid-morning. Instead of making the right-handed turn, retracing my path back to the hotel in Moscow. I turned left when departing the golf course driveway. Leading me past apartment complexes and along the outskirts of Pullman. After a wrong turn, I started moving away from city life, and into farmland, before course correcting. The goal of driving back into Pullman was to find myself walking around the WSU campus. It had been a lot time since I was on the campus of Washington State. About twenty years ago was the last time I could recall being in Pullman. The trip was like most I had taken, to attend a football game with friends tied to the university. My two decades spent away was leaving me directionally challenged. Making my way back into the town, after meandering out onto the country side, I found a recognizable street. Pulling up to the first stop light, the cross street of Stadium Way rang a bell in my mind. Figuring the road would lead me to Martin Stadium, I took a right-hand turn. I realized quickly the direction I chose didn’t lead to the stadium. The decision lead me up into a Pullman neighborhood. This would be the beginning of my Pullman mini-tour. 

As I entered the unknown street, my plan was to simply turn around, and travel in the other direction. figuring going back through the intersection would most likely lead me to campus. I was preparing myself to turn around when I noticed an intriguing street sign. The green box that was mounted on a wooden post indicated the direction for Pullman High School. Traveling past the turn, I was thinking about the last college town I had explored. When I ran into La Grande High School, while in search of a college campus. So, I decided to take the same opportunity in Pullman. Turning the car back in the direction of the intersection, I turned left onto the road that indicated the path toward the high school. Up into a neighborhood I climbed along a street I wouldn’t want to be traveling in the winter snow. The road came to an end and I could see a large parking lot across the street. My left-handed turn led me directly past the main entrance of Pullman High. The school appeared grand from the street below, as the driveway looked to be an uphill climb. I circled back, after driving past the entrance, and found a place to park along the curb. Behind a group of other cars, I climbed out of mine, and took a small stroll toward the entrance. Hoping to find something interesting about the school. Being the middle of the week, I also thought to keep some distance. 

Walking up the driveway of Pullman High School revealed the first item of interest. The football stadium for the school sat just to the left of the entrance. For a high school in a relatively small town. The stadium looked to be of pretty good size. I walked up to an opening in the gate for a better view. The size of the grandstand to my right looked shocking to my eye. Reminding me of the grandstand I stood on at the stadium of Eastern Oregon University. The field at Pullman High sat at the bottom of a bowl, surrounded with hills on three sides. Causing the stands on either side to climb up the hill. Pulling back through the open gate, I could see the administration building. Sitting at the end of an uphill driveway, from my vantage point. The admin building also appeared to be at the top of the stadium stands that ran up an incline, from the football field. The design of the football stadium in relation to campus, struck me as uniquely positive. I could envision the area congested with students and families on a Friday night. For me, the best view struck my field of vision walking back to my car. Looking to my right, as I strolled along the sidewalk, I could see open farmland in the distance. Growing up in a suburban atmosphere, there were never views of open spaces. The picture of a wide-open sky surrounding the wheat farms was welcome. I got into my car and departed the high school atop the Pullman hill. Going in search of the campus of Washington State. 

Moving down the hill, I forgot about the right turn I had made, before the school. The road came to a conclusion at the main highway. Taking another right, led me back to the original traffic signal. I moved into the left turn lane and waited for the light to change. My direction from the traffic light was opposite from the half hour before but, the result was similar. Finding myself driving up a relatively steep incline. I was anticipating the street would take me past Martin Stadium, where Washington State plays its football. On my way up the hill, my first view was that of Beasley Coliseum. When the road banked to the right, I went driving past Martin Stadium on my left. Then, followed the road back down the hill. I finally found somewhere to park, not far from the stadium. Wanting to take a small walk around campus. Striding along the road I had just driven; the campus was crowded. It was midmorning and the sun was shining. I probably spent just short of an hour hiking through campus. Walking near Martin Stadium and through the Compton Union Building. I walked along one of the bridges that crossed above the main road through campus, before my tour ended. Walking back down to the garage, where my car was parked. I couldn’t help but think about how hilly the campus was. Something I didn’t remember from my previous visits. 

From the time of being a young child. The question inside our family wasn’t about the option of going to college. Even with the challenges of cerebral palsy, the curiosity was around where I would attend college. One of the first universities I remember wanting to attend was Washington State. Living in the state of Washington there seemed to be a consistent conversation in school around which state school, people wanted to attend. I knew early on that the small town of Pullman was appealing. But, something happened when my senior year of high school came around and it was time to apply. The letter coming back to me from Washington State halted my dreams. It was the only school I had applied to and the only place I wanted to attend. I had a close friend preparing to go to Washington State and I wanted to join in the journey. Even though the rejection letter stung, there remained options. I could attend junior college for a year, get my grades into a better place, and resubmit an application. The plan was embraced and I set out along the junior college route. During that first year, I attended classes and traveled to Pullman for a couple football games. Though I would continue visiting my buddy in Pullman during his college career, I would never reapply to become a Cougar. Making this walk around the campus, more than twenty years later, felt almost bittersweet. I didn’t forgo my opportunity for a college education. My dreams of a degree, was just realized at a different university. 

There were concepts that occurred to me during the mini tour of Washington State. Thoughts that though painful explained those years of life. I could still sense the feeling of rejection from opening the letter. The longing of my desire to have attended school at Washington State. While, simultaneously realizing all of the reasons WSU would have presented obstacles to my success in college. Back then, it never occurred to me, the challenges the campus would have provided. I most likely thought it wasn’t a big deal that the campus was built on a hill. During my walk around the campus, most everywhere I walked, or looked, was either up or down a hill. We aren’t talking about gentle slopes, either. Combine that with the knowledge of how much snow Pullman receives each winter. With the movement challenges of my cerebral palsy. It would have been a nightmare trying to move around campus, each day. Stopping into Washington State and taking the time to walk around campus, accomplished a peace inside. Letting me know some twenty years later, the school was simply not the place for me to attend. Even with the strange mixture of emotion. I still managed to find enjoyment inside of my walk. Taking the time to peer inside Martin Stadium and snap a couple photos. The best pictures came from walking along a breezeway outside of the Compton Union Building. The walkway siting high in the air provided an amazing view of the Cougar football practice fields. From that walkway, I found my way back to the car, satisfied with the learnings along my mini tour of the campus. I drove back to the hotel in Moscow, excited for my afternoon of golf at Palouse Ridge.

There were important factors I didn’t take into consideration during my younger years. Believing I had the strength to navigate my physical environments. I wanted to minimize the challenges of cerebral palsy by overcoming those challenges. Not wanting to allow them any say in the manner I lived my life. The truth probably was, those challenges of my disability were impacting me more than I realized. I didn’t possess the maturity to admit Washington State wasn’t the school for me, because of the way it was built. Pullman wouldn’t have been a good spot for me, because of the hilliness that seemed to define, not only the university, but the town, as well. I enjoyed running into the high school, though it was far from on my agenda. The hill I climbed to see the high school only reaffirmed the thought process of the day. Twenty years ago, I wanted to take on the challenges of the hilly environment. I dreamed of following my friends to the small town of Pullman. Experiences the fun of spending four years on the campus of Washington State. But, there were other plans for the journey I would be walking. Pointing me away from the hilly campus of WSU and toward colleges with flatter walkways. To places where I wouldn’t be challenged with icy streets during long winters. I didn’t possess the maturity to understand the environment I needed for success. Luckily life pointed me in the direction I needed. Onto the flat campuses of Whatcom junior college and Oregon State. My wish would have been, to be more in tune with my physical challenges, when choosing my post-high school journey.