When is it advantageous to be disadvantaged?

Role models who turned adversities into opportunities

When I read this question, the name of two people who are having so-called physical disadvantage  came to my mind:

1. Virali Modi - Miss Wheelchair India 2014, Runner Up - I wanted to write about Virali Modi, but, does she needs an introduction. She is followed by 42K People on Quora. The number speaks all about her. 
   
   
2. Ira Singhal- UPSC Topper- 2015- She is differently abled lady who has rock solid determination. UPSC is the toughest competitive exam in India and those who get selected in this exam are going to serve the country in different senior positions as a Civil servant. The second lady is Ira Singhal. I watched her interview on the show “Prime Time” by Mr. Ravish Kumar of NDTV and became her ardent fan.
   
   

A so-called disadvantage turns into an advantage

• When someone is optimistic about Life:   I found these girls optimistic about life. They never look like a victim of the circumstances even when they have faced tremendous struggle as a person with special needs.
• When someone is determined to take on challenges: Despite getting a rank in UPSC and getting selected in Indian Revenue Service (IRS), Ira was denied a posting as they felt that she was not physically fit for it. But, she took her fight to the Central Administrative Tribunal and got a favorable ruling. Virali has been paralysed since 2006 but see the optimist in her outlook. I am sure she will soon say good bye to her wheelchair.
• When someone is engaged in meaningful pursuits: Ira is an avid reader. No, she is not a stereotyped topper. She reads a lot of novels and watches TV series of US/UK. According to her, one should study smartly by understanding and analyzing stuffs rather than being glued to books all the time. Virali is doing all the things that people normally do like dancing, pursue her hobbies, writing and inspiring people on Quora. Her life is truly amazing just because she is engaged in meaningful pursuits.
• When someone looks beyond one's own problem: We often feel that  we have the biggest problem in the world. I am glad that when we think that way we are wrong. Ira & Virali are doing great favour to the humanity by their rock solid determination.
• When someone is crystal clear about what they want in Life: I am happy to get a chance to see Ira's Interview. She feels so composed and resolved as a person. She know what she had to do in Life. No ifs or buts, no A, B, C... X, Y or Z plans. Same goes for Virali, she is determined to say bye bye to her wheelchair. I guess she is now shooting for a movie. She is already a model and just read her answers and you will get inspired by her.
• When someone redefines way of Living: I am touched by Ira & Virali's way of living. I feel they have transformed themselves into someone who is so much engrossed in learning, knowing and exploring what is around them that they have no time to bother about their physical condition or anything negative.
• When someone realize that Disability is the inability to identify ability: Ira & Virali made me realize how disable I am when I was feeling sad for their physical condition. We worry about getting in a good school and then we have to get into a good college. After that we need a plum job and God forbid if something is not happening as per our wish then we feel as if the whole world has come to a standstill.
• When someone is inspiring others:  Both Ira & Virali are an inspiration for me and many from my generation who often bother about petty things. I recommend everyone reading this to know more about these wonderful girls.
• When people Know the secret of Happiness and identify the myths that dictate their life-  As I am not that lucky to know Ira and Virali personally hence  I am sharing the lessons I have learned in life through failure, rejection, hardship, depression and tough times.  The Irony is that I always feel that I am a bit late in learning things. However, I console myself as there is never too late to make a comeback. I have touched upon some of my myths like I am not a hypocrite, I am good for nothing, I have wasted X years of my life, I don't have natural talent, I don't have zeal to learn, etc in my answer to What are the lessons people most often learn too late in life?  ( I cannot concise it further hence I have given the  link where you will learn from the lies I have been telling myself. I am sure that Ira and Virali must have learned all these lessons well ahead of time.)

Life is all about People. We all can learn from Ira and Virali to value our life and help others even when we are going through a difficult phase in our life. I am trying to add value for those who are reading this. Let us together make this world a little more beautiful. 

I run a blog Life is Beautiful with a hope that may be 10-15 years down the line, it will grow into something really inspiring. Thanks for your time :)