By Gail Wilson

One student shares a perspective on having optimism despite challenges that stand in your way.

Barriers. We all face them. ARCC Freshman, Dakota Forness has one. Doorways. He says 90 percent of them are too small. They are my natural enemy he says cracking a smile.

Forness is one of those people who laughs at himself frequently.

“If you can’t laugh at yourself, what is the point?” said Forness.

As I walked to the newsroom to interview Forness he shared with me that he is currently working on his generals but he wants to eventually become a sports journalist.

To Forness, adaptive sports for the disabled just don’t cut it for him. He feels playing a sport should be as fun as watching a sport.

“When I am watching a sport I am having way more fun than if I were to go outside and play an adaptive sport because it doesn’t have the same feeling,” said Forness.

Forness had a bit of trouble articulating some of his ideas, but after a few minutes one could see this interview would  be different than most.

Forness has a disability known as Cerebral Palsy. Since preschool he has been in a wheel chair. He got his first motorized wheelchair when in kindergarten.

“Ran into everything. I was not a good driver. I still am not a good driver. People who say I am not a good driver have not seen me drive at home,” said Forness.

Forness then explains that the type of wheelchair he uses is very touchy. He cracks another smile and says we should talk about NASCAR racing.

“They should have a bunch of people in wheel chairs going 200 miles an hour around the race track,” said Forness.

I find myself grinning and laughing during most of the interview with Forness. Forness, who enjoys laughing at himself, told me his intent is to be funny.

“I laugh at my disability all the time because if you can’t laugh at yourself then what is the point,” said Forness.

Another story he shared was about navigating ARCC.

“I got lost the first three days I was here. One day I just went to a random spot at the school and I got lost. Had no idea where I was going but, I figured that was the only way I could get out. I had to get myself lost and I had to get myself unlost,” Forness said.

Now he knows every square inch of the campus by working his way around his directional difficulties. He calls himself “directionally impaired.”

“I am really bad at directions I know my left from my right but if you were to hand me a map I am not ashamed to say I would need a GPS because I am not good at directions,” Forness said.

Then for a minute he takes on a more serious tone. He shared that he doesn’t really know how many people have Cerebral Palsy but each person that does is different. They may have similarities but they are completely different than the next person.

“It’s like a disability snowflake. There are no two that are alike,” Forness said.

Forness said he has been finding new ways to do stuff and overcome barriers since the day he was born.

He shared that he is a huge optimist. He mentions that other people have way worse situations. This is the only life he has ever known. Maybe if he had lost his ability to walk through an accident it would be harder to deal with.

“So it doesn’t really bother me because I don’t know any other way of life,” said Forness.

He gives kudos to Linnea Janas. She is the Coordinator for the office of Students with Disabilities at ARCC. He says she is a great helper. Whatever he can’t physically do or whatever jumbled thoughts he has, she is the one person who can turn things into a workable plan.

Janas said her role on campus at ARCC is to work with individual students to coordinate accommodations. She helps a little over 200 students between Coon Rapids and Cambridge succeed with all types of disabilities. She shared with me that there are a lot of students at ARCC in wheelchairs or with other mobility issues.

“We just make sure that they have enough time in between classes or that they have tables and desks in the classroom that will accommodate their chairs,” said Janas, who has been in her position for the past five years.

Janus encourages students not to hesitate to ask for help. Her job is to work with them to overcome some of those struggles they have because of their disability.

“My goal is to make them feel as comfortable as possible so that we can get them the resources that they need. My advice is to use the resources and don’t be afraid to ask for help,” Janas said.

Janas said students that have concerns or needs for help with any type of disability can contact her office and she will assist them with their needs.

Janas said students can contact the Office for students with Disabilities at (763)-433-1350 if they are using services and they are having issues or if they need more help.

Forness has felt great about all the help he has received from Janas.

“Most of the problems I have you would think they would be really drawn out and complex. Most of the tasks that I have trouble with are simple everyday tasks,” said Forness.

While listening to his next comment, I am drawn to my youth when my big brother would always let me win games. I hated that. Forness faces a similar struggle during video games with others.

It’s hard for him to know if he is actually winning a game because he is good at it or if his opponent is just letting him win because he has a disability. He often can’t tell if he is ahead in the game because he is good or if his opponent feels sorry for him.

“I would rather lose a billion times than win one time knowing that you let me win. It takes the fun out of wining if you let me win. I want to win because I beat you,” Forness said.

There are few barriers that Forness is bothered with. Next he shared with me a strong and firm message. Embrace it, he said. Embrace the fact that you have a disability.

“There is no reason you can’t do anything that a regular person can do. The word impossible should not exist because I believe there is always some way to do something you just have to find it. No matter what it is,” said Forness.

To Forness, anything is possible. No matter what it is.

“I have always tried to find ways to do something. I might fail 1000 times trying and then realize that’s not the way to do it. I am sure there are things that we physically cannot do but, 99 out of 100 things, there are ways to do them,” Forness said.

“I never knew in a billion years that you could play video games with you just your mouth. It’s crazy,” said Forness.

At the end of the interview, Forness said that no matter what ones disability is he hopes that one day we will all find ways to accept and embrace the disability instead of it being negative. He feels most do not see a disability as a positive thing.

There are times when Forness hasn’t been able to reach something. He said he really has wished he could stand up and reach it but that is the extent of it. It might anger him or upset him for a short while but, then he is over it.

“I always think of the positives of having a disability. While all the rest of those people have to walk up the stairs, I get to push a button and elevate myself to my next class,” said Forness while grinning.

Forness is hoping to work for ESPN someday as a sports journalist and has a future goal of spinners put on his wheelchair.