Pete
Bradley thought he was happy sitting at home playing computer games,
but he credits his stepmother with forcing him to get off his backside –
and into a rewarding career.
"I
was 18 and out of school. All I wanted to do was play computer games
and drink beers with my mates. But my stepmother wasn’t going to let me
waste my life, so she encouraged me to do Outward Bound."
If you spend much time with Pete, you realise that most of the credit should be his, as taking part in the physically challenging course was even more daunting for him than for most people.
“I’ve got smaller arms and legs than most people and a bit of a curve in the back. It makes me short and stops me running around as much as the All Blacks. But I don’t see myself as disabled. I’ve got the guts and determination that helps people treat me more normally.”
"When I got back I realised that if I can climb a mountain and sail a boat, there’s no reason for me to sit here and play James Bond on the computer – it wasn’t going to progress me any further.”
If you spend much time with Pete, you realise that most of the credit should be his, as taking part in the physically challenging course was even more daunting for him than for most people.
“I’ve got smaller arms and legs than most people and a bit of a curve in the back. It makes me short and stops me running around as much as the All Blacks. But I don’t see myself as disabled. I’ve got the guts and determination that helps people treat me more normally.”
Achievements at Outward Bound helped Pete realise he had potential
The course was tough, but it gave Pete a new view of his situation. "When we were walking up the mountain, I had to walk up the mountain too. Walking isn’t one of my strong points and we just took our time and plodded up the mountain."When I got back I realised that if I can climb a mountain and sail a boat, there’s no reason for me to sit here and play James Bond on the computer – it wasn’t going to progress me any further.”
Workbridge provided practical support
So Pete went to Workbridge, an employment service for people with disabilities, where he was steered toward a training course for call centre operators.The wheelchair is a form of transport, not an excuse to fail
Now, in his job at Christchurch City Council’s call centre, it's Pete who gets the opportunity to encourage others. "I get people that ring me up and go, 'I'm in a wheelchair and I can’t do this.' And I’m like 'Hang on, I’m in a wheelchair too and I still manage to get my wheelie bins out and I live at home independently.'"Life’s all about having experiences. Just because you’ve got a disability you can’t sit on your laurels and not have those experiences."
3 comments:
Yes,it sounds great to me. Now I realize something important.I work full time in the day time and I study in the evening. I feel really tired everyday.I am always jealous to those people who have enough time to go for walk and have happy time with their friends, but I have to go to work after work I have to study. I have no free time at all. But after reading this story, I know that it's not bad because I have been doing something useful for myself as well as my country. Pete can do it well so why can't I do it and get succeed in my working life...Thank to this amazing story..
In the concepts of this story, Pete likes playing gamesw, and like making parties with his mates. What makes him succeed is his determination and guts. He wants to help someone who helps him, thus Pete can do many jobs in his life. He believed that life is all about having experiences. All the terms above make me conscious or awake. Before I think, I cannot do what I want, but now I know everything is under my determination and braveness or hard-working.
His physical is disable, but he has gut and commitment to achieve his goal.He can lead his life to real world that some normal people unable to do like him.In beyond difference from his behaving in the past.
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