Canada

When I was preparing for my Canadian Citizenship Test, I studied some great Canadians; Rick Hansen was one of them. I was fascinated by his life story, so I read more about him. This Canadian lost the use of his legs at the age of 15 in an accident, but his disability did not stop him from working for other people with challenges.

After two weeks, my husband and I went to Nova Scotia for my husband's convocation ceremony for his doctorate. When the convocation ceremony was going on, they announced Rick Hansen's name, and I became excited! I wanted to meet him personally and I hoped to know more about him. He made a speech at the ceremony and it was so compelling. That day he got the Honorary Doctor of Humanities degree. His speech was so powerful; it really helped me to understand that if we are willing to help our society there is nothing that can stop us. He is known as the “Man in Motion”. He said in his speech, “Life is a journey, not a destination.” I was very impressed by this idea and I feel the same way.

What Rick Hansen meant when he said, “Life is a journey, not a destination” is that success in life isn’t measured by the destination, but the journey itself.

Rick is best known as the ‘Man in Motion’ because when he was 15 years old, he was in a car accident and he lost the use of his legs as a result of a spinal cord injury. Because of that tragedy, he can’t walk for the rest of his life. But this made him stronger in other ways. In 1985 Rick Hansen and his team started the epic 26 - month, 34 - country, 40,000 km wheelchair trip around the world. Rick did this to prove the potential of people with disabilities and to raise funds for people with spinal cord injuries. Because of this, he is called the ‘Man in Motion’.

I think that Rick Hansen is a man of faith. He said in one of his quotes, “The goal you set must be challenging. At the same time, it should be realistic and attainable; it is not impossible to reach. It should be challenging enough to make you stretch, but not so far that you break.” He could have given up but he didn’t. Many things could have stopped him but nothing did, because he believed in himself.

Rick Hansen is a true Canadian hero because he inspires and encourages lots of Canadians, and his role will never be forgotten in Canadian history.