Spencer West and the Shark Attack

As a kid, every time I went out, whether to the grocery story or a restaurant, people would point and whisper, "Where's that guy's body? Where's his legs? He looks crazy!"

Nobody even asked me my name first. People were seeing my disability, instead of me. So I changed my story a bit. When asked, "Where are your legs?" I would say, "I left them in my other pants" or "I was swimming in the ocean and this shark swam up and BIT THEM RIGHT OFF!" If I could get them to laugh, people were forced to see me as a person.

But humour didn't always help me get noticed. Especially in high school when all of the guys started to play sports. I knew I couldn't play football or basketball, so I did what most guys do when they can't play these sports, I became a cheerleader! As a cheerleader I was known for my cartwheels, but they were not much help after high school. Or so I thought.

I was struggling to find my way when I was encouraged to go to Kenya with Me to We to build a school. Upon my arrival I was surrounded by swarms of school kids, who bombarded me with questions about my life. A little girl raised her hand and said, "I didn't know this sort of thing happened to white people, too."

Suddenly, I understood that instead of trying to be like everyone I was different for a reason. I was different because I needed to show others that it doesn't matter what your abilities are or where you come from in the world. If you work hard, never give up and laugh a lot, you can achieve anything. Now, as a motivational speaker for Me to We, I've spoken to audiences around the world about courage, shark attacks and making a difference. I've even showed off my cartwheels. Changing the world one cartwheel at a time!

Spencer's Must-Haves

• Follow Spencer on Twitter
• Travel to Kenya with Spencer
• Read Spencer's bio and book him as a speaker