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What was different about your body when you were born?
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I was actually born with one finger on my left hand and a full left leg, but it was curved.
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I had surgery when I was 2 and a half years old to remove the part that was curved.
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So I had a stump that they could put a prosthetic leg on.
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And then they took the big toe from that. And they put it on my left hand. So, I have two fingers.
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I did tons of physical therapy to try to get my new finger to work like a real finger, and not like a toe.
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I was always trying to figure out how to bring them together and how to get them to come together and touch, and I was sitting in the shower. And they touched. And it was amazing!
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I was running around the house screaming, yay, I did it! 'Cause that was like the first milestone.
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Do you feel different than other kids?
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Sometimes I do. People do stare and whisper.
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I'll be thinking, like, there's tons of kids in this world.
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How did He (God) happen to choose me to be one of the kids that had to get their legs taken away?
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And I asked God like..."Can you please give me a leg? Somehow, some way."
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But then I have to think, I was born like this. I can't change it.
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And when I play sports, I don't feel different.
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I don't think about anything else. I just think about what's happening in the game.
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Would you say sports have become a ritual for you?
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Yes. Because I feel like if I don't play sports every day, I feel weird.
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I've always felt like sports is where I can go when I'm sad or lonely or anything.
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I love competition. I love the feeling. I love being under pressure and everything.
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When I'm playing sports, I go from thinking about all the other things to game mode.
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When I'm in the zone, I feel like I have this like fire around me.
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And then the flames pop up and have the circle around it.
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So, any thoughts that try to come in, and they get burned by the fire. And they don't let in.
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Do you feel you have to work harder than other kids?
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Oh, yes. I bet kids, when they take a step, oh, I took a step big deal.
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For me, when I take a step, I say, oh, no big deal. But I thought about every little bit.
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I put so much pressure on my body from being in a prosthetic all day.
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I come home. And I'm like dying from back pain. And I have to stretch before I go to bed every night.
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So how do you stay positive?
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I have to think about what I have instead of what I don't have.
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I have a great life. I have a great family.
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I have great legs. I have great friends. I have a great school.
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I could go on for years. I'm just grateful that I have so many things that are great in my life.
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There's lots of challenges in people's life, and that's a little wall right there.
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So I try to break down that wall. If I'm just running around like playing soccer or shooting a lay-up, I don't think about it.
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I don't feel different when I'm playing sports because that takes me away from my disability.
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But it's a good thing that I'm born like this. I've learned to be confident in myself. I've learned how to be strong.
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Firefighters see difficult things every day.
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Click to watch as one shares his inspiring ritual in this episode.
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All that excitement, energy, sweat, tears, it's contained until you get all the way up to the top, where you just explode and just feel the sky open up.
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"Rituals" is a part of "Seeker Stories.".
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If you'd like to continue to see more stories from around the world, we need you to subscribe.
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Thanks for watching.