An Open Letter from Natalie Buchoz – Friend, Trojan, Mermaid & Inspiration
By Lauren Brose ‘15
Meet Natalie.
We met in our first PR class and have remained good friends since. She’s the girl who tells me how it is and takes me to Taco Bell before class. I was the girl who got the privilege to assist her with getting on stage to accept her diploma last spring at commencement; And this spring, we are going to live out her dream of being this legend at Coachella. If you haven’t figured it out already, Natalie Buchoz is a real-life mermaid. She’s beautiful inside and out, a literal ray of sunshine, and always has a smile on her face. Tragically, Natalie endured a life changing accident and was told she’d never be able to walk again. When asked to cover a disability awareness piece, I knew right off the bat my words wouldn’t do this topic justice.
Natalie is more than happy to share her story and point of view on being a student with a disability on USC’s campus.
Hey Trojans,
My name is Natalie Buchoz and I am a senior majoring in Public Relations. Just a quick background on me, I grew up in Huntington Beach, CA playing pretty much every sport known to mankind. Soccer, softball, volleyball, swimming, lifeguarding, gymnastics – if it had anything to do with being competitive, I was in. I am a mild adrenaline junkie and am deathly scared of black beetles. I own 3 dachshunds (Weiner dogs) and am the biggest animal lover you’ll ever meet.
This week I am going to talk to you about my disability, a bit about disability awareness and why you should care about it even if you are not disabled.
When I was fifteen I always imagined I would grow up, play softball for my favorite University, earn my degree in physical therapy and help those less fortunate along the way in any way I could possible. I always envisioned myself as someone who works hard and sees life as a series of opportunities all just waiting for me to seize. On December 29th 2007, during my sophomore year in high school, my life changed in a blink when I sustained a cervical spinal cord injury rendering me paralyzed from the neck down in a skiing accident. After spending 3 ½ months in the hospital, I was informed by multiple doctors and specialists of all the things I was never going to be able to achieve in my life. Competitive me, didn’t like that. I decided there and then to defy all the odds.
I was going to live my life the only way I knew, and that was to continue to make goals and work hard to achieve them. Even though my path now was very different, I had this deep feeling in my gut that told me I was to stay the course I originally chose for myself. I felt a sense of confidence and focus inside myself that exuded to others. Being forced into a very different life direction, I was beginning to change the definition of myself. It was up to me to make the positive changes necessary to achieve my goals and obtain the success I had always seen for myself.
I learned quickly that my new life was going to be filled with incredibly difficult daily challenges. Many people take for granted the small tasks we do on a daily basis. Such tasks include eating, combing your hair, getting dressed and getting in and out of a vehicle independently, these are all things I struggled to learn again.
When you’re a young adult and your confidence is abundant, it is very frustrating to have to slow down and be taught basic life skills again. It can absolutely challenge your attitude and weigh heavily on your self-esteem. Since I could no longer turn to sports for a mental release, I turned to writing. The more and more I wrote the more I found it helped people. I started a blog about my struggles going through a spinal cord injury at a young age and I found so many people that were extremely interested and receptive to my struggles.
One of my goals was getting into USC and becoming independent enough to live there on my own. I was nervous I wasn’t going to be able to get myself to my classes because it’s a long way to roll from A to B. When I first got to USC, I was extremely happy that the campus is relatively flat (easy to get from A to B) but what really blew my mind was how un-accessible some of the buildings are. I am unable to roll into the bookstore because the ramp is entirely too steep. I have friends who are also spinal cord injury victims who are tennis fans and cannot go watch USC tennis games because the stadium is un-accessible with stairs to get to their destination. This is unacceptable and we can do better. One of the most frustrating things that I stated earlier that people take advantage of at USC is the disabled parking. There are only a small amount of disabled parking spots at USC and most of them are always filled. This is coming from a person who needs extra space to open the door to get in and out of her wheelchair – it’s hard when you watch another student fully abled bodied run out of their handicap spot to class while I struggle to find a spot. I am aware that disabilities come in all shapes and sizes and am in no way saying one is superior to another. But some disabilities like mine, need that extra space to get out of the car or WE CANT GET OUT OF OUR VEHICLE.
While my situation at 22-years-old is drastically different than I ever envisioned it being, I never let it hold me back from being able to achieve anything. Whether it was conquering fears of the unknown or going out and attempting stand up paddle boarding. Today I am known for my “Nattitude”, which is a nickname that I received that defines me for my fearless spirit and go-getter attitude.
After finishing my undergraduate degree in December, I plan on publishing my first novel to be called “Nattitude” and using my Public Relations skills to start a non-profit helping other SCI victims like myself. I am also heavily involved with an organization called Swim with Mike which is a non profit started at USC that benefits young adults who were athletes before they sustained spinal cord injuries and they fund scholarships for students all over the country. It is an incredible organization that has changed my life and so many other people. They have a fundraiser every April at the USC pool and would love for you to be apart of it.
One of the most important things I want people to take away from my story is this – a spinal cord injury can happen to anyone at anytime. I was exactly like you I had no idea what a spinal cord injury was or how good my life was before I got hurt. I took so many little things for granted but you don’t have to. Let us Trojans stick together and shed education all around campus for people like me who need your support.
If you’re wondering about my disability, after two years of intensive rehab, I was able to walk and receive my high school diploma. I am able to stand, walk and take steps on my own. Something everyone in my life said I would never be able to do. A year later, I received my acceptance letter from USC. Adversity is a word known to describe people overcoming a hardship or challenge in their life. Even when doctors stripped me of all hope of ever walking again, I continued to remain positive in my hopes of reaching my infinite goal of being 100% independent again. I believe that if you set goals, work hard enough, stay positive, focused and patient you will achieve whatever goals you set for yourself.
Everybody will have a time in their life when they will be faced with some sort of adversity. I have found that it is not the adversity that defines you but how you respond to it that ultimately shapes who you are.
Fighting On Always,
Natalie Buchoz
If you’re eager to hear more about Natalie’s story, check out her blog Diary of a Guy’s Girl.
