“I’ve been called names, left out, not asked to the dance, and was even pushed in a locker for three-and-a-half hours when in middle school. I think they have a term for it now. It’s called bullying.“
Gianna Rojas – tough love and second chances
Gianna Rojas is a force of nature. Just spending a few minutes in her company reveals a friendly, open and passionate woman, who is comfortable in her own skin. Gianna is determined to spread the word that golf is for all, that everyone is differently-abled, and that having a disability does not define the person.
Born in what has been often cited as the cleanest city in the United States – Bath, in Maine – as the daughter of a military Father, Gianna came into the world as a much-anticipated child. Gianna’s father, Richard was stationed at the Naval Air Station in nearby Brunswick. As with every military family, they moved frequently to postings that took them all around the country. “Every couple of years we were off to a new mission,” says Gianna. It is tough enough to be the new kid, earning your place in the school community, leaving friends behind and then having to make new ones and all that entails, but Gianna had one more obstacle to overcome as she pursued the human need to connect.
In the late fifties and sixties, expectant mothers were advised to take a medication called Thalidomide to combat the effects of morning sickness. Initially launched in 1957, it took four years for concerns regarding birth defects to surface. The drug was withdrawn immediately but during that period it had adverse effects on the development of an estimated 10,000 fetuses. Gianna was one such baby and it resulted in being born without fingers on her left hand. She can however take a positive from this start in life, saying, “I’m very glad for that opportunity and those experiences. Yes it was hard but now I can build rapport with anybody anytime, anywhere, everywhere in a matter of seconds…that was a skill that I had to learn. It was a survival skill for me.”
These were tough and character-building times for Gianna. Society, parents, and grandparents during that time taught their children, with the best of intentions, not to stare or ask questions as it would be rude. It was that mindset and culture, which nevertheless added to the isolation leaving Gianna feeling invisible and misunderstood. “I’ve been called names, left out, not asked to the dance, and was even pushed in…
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