She can feel eyes on her everywhere she goes. They follow her down the hall when she rolls by, as she leaves class five minutes early. They stare when she pushes the button for the elevator. Or when she parks her wheelchair at the end of the lunch table.

But junior Militza “Mili” Gallardo just makes eye contact and smiles. For twelve years, she has felt the constant staring and has been asked probing questions about her disability.

She has learned to give the same answer in different ways based on who she is talking to. They ask, “Why are you in a wheelchair?”

“I was born two months premature, and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when I was a month old,” Gallardo says. “I have been in a wheelchair since kindergarten.”

They wonder, “How do you use the restroom?” or “How do you get dressed in the morning?”

“I use the support of bars to use the restroom and hold on to my bed to get dressed,” Gallardo replies. Now used to the curious gazes, Gallardo is unbothered by them. But she does wish that people could look beyond her disability and start noticing her for the person she is.

“I feel like some people don’t know the other side of me,” Gallardo said.

THE OTHER SIDE
But many people don’t ask or wonder about the very things that make Gallardo relatable to others: her hobbies. People don’t know that she spends Sunday afternoons on her couch, watching football and rooting for the San Francisco 49ers, showing her loyalty to her home state of California.

“My favorite players [from the 49ers] are Dante Pettis and Marquise Goodwin,” Gallardo said. “I feel important when I see Goodwin playing because I’ve met him before.”

Gallardo was in eighth grade when decided she would try out for her school’s cheerleading team. In 2016, she entered the middle school gym wearing a white t-shirt and black shorts. She could feel her brain jumbling up her cheer as she faced towards the panel of judges, fidgeting with her hands. She hoped they would see more than the chair.

“I knew I had to be confident and couldn’t be nervous,” Gallardo said. “My language arts teacher was standing in the corner of the gym, so that made me feel even more nervous.”

Gallardo didn’t know how she was able to get through the tryouts but was glad she did. Afterward, she faintly heard one of the judges say “Good job” and saw her language arts teacher applauding her from the distant corner.

“At the end, my judges gave me compliments, which normally doesn’t happen,” Gallardo said. “I felt more confident.”

Whenever students or coaches spot her at football games now, they don’t recognize her as “the girl in the wheelchair.” No. They know her as a former cheerleader for Roach Middle School.

“When people see other people with disabilities, they think they should probably feel bad for them,” Gallardo said. “But I’m okay with sharing my story because it makes the world a better place, and they know not everyone is the same.”

In her Education and Training internship at Mooneyham Elementary, Gallardo teaches in a first grade Special Education class. For her students, she is a teacher, role model and leader. Someone who relates to her students and understands their struggles. Someone who shows her students that they are more than their disability. Someone who inspires her students to fearlessly pursue their passions, no matter who is staring.