*Unperfect Angel* Ms. Wheelchair America 2010

Check out the full interview at http://TheBadassProject.com. While you're there, join the Badass Army so you can receive updates about Badasses from around the world. This week's featured Badass is Erika Bogan, Ms. Wheelchair America 2010, but she's not your typical beauty queen. The mother of three young daughters, Erika surfs, skateboards, parasails, skydives, bungee-jumps, and much, much more. A self-proclaimed adrenaline junkie, Erika is redefining what it means to have a disability. "My platform [as Ms. Wheelchair America 2010] was, 'Anything's Possible,'" she says. "I'm definitely very confident that throughout my years [since the accident] that I proved that statement to be true in more than one way. And I think that I also put a new meaning to the term, 'confined to a wheelchair.' I'm not confined to a wheelchair whatsoever, I just happen to be sitting in one." It wasn't always this way for Erika. A tragic car accident, the result of domestic violence, is what led to her life in a wheelchair. Immediately after the accident, she was in a coma for months, followed by a year and a half of depression, anger, and frustration before she found the peace and contentment that marks her life today. "I was injured because of domestic violence," she reveals. "For me that was a really hard thing to swallow, in the beginning after my injury. And I said to myself, if I could touch one person's life with my story, in any way, whether it's giving them motivation, helping them get out of a situation, [or] whatever it is, then everything horrible that I went through is worthwhile." Erika offers hope to everyone who hears her story and helps motivate others to live their lives the same way that she does. So...what's your excuse? The Badass Project is dedicated to highlighting the stories of those who, despite being dealt significant physical disadvantages, live extraordinary and inspiring lives. Badasses don't "cope with their situation"; rather, they transcend perceived obstacles and make them irrelevant. They define themselves by their accomplishments, not their limitations. If you know a Badass we should be talking to, you can nominate him or her at http://TheBadassProject.com/nominate/

Posted by sunshinegrl1980@yahoo.com on March 13, 2011 at 11:17 PM

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