This week Rhema attended a science class at her beloved friend S’s school.

She stayed in her coat with the hood pulled up and her headphones on. She colored vigorously on paper, and she never looked up while Miss O, the teacher, or other students were speaking. A few times she got up to throw balled up paper in the trash or walk to the front of the class to get to Miss O’s desks and find new markers.

To many it would appear that she was completely out of place and “in her own world” because the environment was too much for her. Or that she was incapable of paying attention. Or that the science lesson was beyond her ability to understand. After all she’d never been in a mainstream science class like this before, never had a chance to go over the pre-requisites.

But by now we know how the story goes, right? We know that this journey has always been about trusting that there’s more than what the eyes can see.

The fact that she controlled her body to stay for the entire 55-minute class is huge. Beyond huge. With every fiber of her being she wanted to be there, learning new things with her friends. It is strength and willpower on a whole ‘nother level.

At home I asked her what she learned in science class, and she typed her response…

“i learned that photosynthesis helps plants make energy and the sun helps make glucose”

And then she gives us the chemical formula for glucose.

Below, not a perfect video by any stretch. Seizure meds in the background, for example. And Hope recorded it while trying to suppress an attack of hiccups. So it is pretty wobbly at first, but the video quality does improve. It took nearly 10 minutes to type 14 words. Still she types, and I see a girl demolishing every obstacle in her way – the sensory overload, the motor planning challenges, the racing mind, the Doubters. She triumphs over it all and demands more.

And she does it with one finger. One letter a time.