Being "Extra Ordinary" Is what She Calls Herself
The first story is devoted to an unprecedented lady by age and a young girl "by heart. When she came to the world her Parents decided to name her ”Jyoti Roselind”, and later when she grew up enough to comprehend what this name meant she proved the purity of it and always thanked her parents for naming her with a beautiful name. Jyoti means “light” and Roselind means a “beautiful rose” and that is what she actually is. She is the one who is just not named beautifully but she owes the beauty of the name too. Ms. Jyoti Joseph, a polio fighter from the city of Lakes, Bhopal has been a true inspiration for everyone who has ever met her. She cannot walk fast as the rest of the people do, but she lives far enthusiastically than any other soul. She was 3 and a half year old when she started her pre-school and soon after 2 months of her initial school life she was struck by polio and her whole life was distorted. Her entire body was paralysed from neck to toe and only one hand was free from polio. And the next 3-4 years was a long journey from home to hospital and hospital to home.
Life was not the same for her like others around had, she couldn’t go to school and a home tutor started tutoring her at home. During her course of treatment and rehabilitation she was admitted in an organization called Asha Niketan that worked for the differently abled. That was her first step in the outer world for which she says was the restart of her real life.She considers Asha Niketan to be a place of her learning’s. Asha Niketan, a missionary’s foundation that works as a hospital cum rehabilitation centre is a house for numerous differently abled from around the nation, they come here to learn, to make themselves competent and even more capable then the rest of the humans around. It is here that she developed the leadership quality because apart from being one of the youngest she used to be held responsible for others mistake because she was the only multilingual person and according to the authorities she was supposed to control and guide the older kids because of her language abilities. She was always enquired by others of her hardships in life, but she never was worried; she never was concerned how the rest of her life will be. Instead, she lived her life to the fullest, and that’s what makes her cherish happiness every day. Jyoti’s mother was also terribly worried about her that she is not blessed like other girls, what is she going to do, how she is going to do? To calm her mom Jyoti always quoted this Bible verse “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes?” The lively girl lives in the present. She feels that life is a gift; you need to be free of all worries. She lives each moment to the fullest and glorifies the life that God has given her. Doing good to others is what she loves and she thinks that being good to all without any reason is the ultimate key to happiness. Days passed and the sisters in the rehabilitation centre took an IQ Test which proved that she had an above average IQ and so the sisters asked her parents to admit her in a good school wherein her capabilities might get a better arena to blossom. By now she was capable to walk on her Crutches as well. That’s when she was taken to a reputed girl’s school in Bhopal, “Carmel Convent B.H.E.L”, where even the principal of the school admired her so much that she used to call her “My Angel”. This was a new journey Jyoti was about to take off. Once she sat thinking that how she is different from the other people around and she started counting the differences. And to her surprise she could only count 3-4 such things. Such as she couldn’t dance, she couldn’t run, she couldn’t jump and she couldn’t climb the stairs as fast as the others could do. That’s all! So she realized that the things that ordinary people could do even the animals can do. So if ordinary people could do ordinary things and she couldn’t do those that was clear that she was not ordinary but “extra ordinary”. And that was a life changing realization. She never questioned herself or anyone for her “Being different” situation. Instead she is happy to be blessed enough to be the way she is. She thinks that this is why she could observe the world better and meet diverse folks and feel their love. She believes that her life is because of the offerings of love from others. Attitude towards happiness is our decision, she loves being happy, she cannot stay sad for more than an hour, and she finds nothing to be sad around her. She says,
“One should be a good listener, this make people closer to you.” Jyoti believes in individual initiative and she robustly states that every step counts. She never likes people smoking and she always fights against wrong things.
" I Was A Born Leader And i Fell Its My Duty To Correct People If They Are Wrong "--Jyoti
It was not easy for a body like her’s to drive, but she decided and modified a two wheeler-scooter into a four wheeled vehicle with two side wheels and became one of the first in Bhopal to drive differently. Even after a bad accident she did not relent instead the bundle of positivism thought that she was on Jesus lap and nothing had happened, she had a strong faith in God. The determined creature was not willing to end up here and she wanted to have a car too. Yes it took some time but she modified a car in a way that the ordinaries couldn’t even think off driving, she handled the steering with one hand and the Brake, accelerator and clutch with the other hand. After college she was never interested to get a job, but her mother insisted that she has to take pains to earn her bread and butter. Her mother used to taunt that,”How your teachers are calling you intelligent when you are not even getting a job” to this she replied,"Intelligence has nothing to do with a job”. She got her first job in Indian railways, the biggest employer of the world. She worked with all her dedication for almost 2 years and was recognised as the Best employee of the month for her committed work. But she left this job as she got a better offer from the state government department. The angel just took a flight towards an amazing journey and had already started landing on remarkable destinations. Jyoti has been interviewed on television and has also received awards which recognize women for their outstanding work and courage. She is a winner over life’s hardships. Once her family applied for U.S visitor visa to see the world but unfortunately her parents did not get it and only the angel from heaven got it and so the solo-traveller went to see the world alone. She was allowed to go now. The flight towards pleasure started and Ms. Jyoti travelled to New York, Philadelphia, Austin, San Marino in Texas, Chicago, Seattle, Vancouver in Canada, Boston and so many cities around. She gives the credit of this solo journey to every individual that she met during her travels. This was a plan of God; her travel was decided to be alone. Jyoti loves adventure; she has a lot of desires for life and is going to accomplish them all. Her next fantasy is to travel Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and south East Asia and have more adventures. She says that if with two lame legs she can travel all these places including Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Nepal, how much more could “ordinary” people accomplish. Her dreams are beyond our dreams. She is a life beyond our lives.
This piece of story is an unintentional motivational theme for all who are blessed with the surplus gifts of god. Jyoti believes that humans keep their potentials hidden and remain to live as a pupa or a caterpillar even though they could be beautiful butterflies. Realize the potential that you owe, admire what you are, gather your courage onto one node and take off the journey you are blessed with. Stop regretting and complaining, but utilize what is exceptional in you. Not all get this blessing of nature, if you have this you are made for something. Stop making excuses for what you are not doing, rather start striving for what all you can do now. Cheers to this lively human and a lot of wishes for her coming wonders.