Former Paralympian Jessica Smith Gets Real About Life In Dubai

You know how everyone talks about “overcoming obstacles” like it’s a buzzword on a vision board? Or usually a motivational quote slapped over a sunset. But when Jessica Smith speaks about challenges, it’s a lived story of treading through some of the toughest waters.

Born without her left arm and surviving third-degree burns as a toddler, Jessica’s navigated her childhood in a world not accessible for people with disabilities.

Paving her way through and through, she’s competed on the world’s biggest stage in sport and is today a Dubai-based motivational speaker, global disability inclusion consultant, and a children’s author.

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Joining the Lovin Dubai Show, Jessica Smith speaks about resilience, bittersweet experiences as a person with special needs and the power of showing up exactly as you are.

While she was in and was in and out of hospitals for years, she found her solace in sport and movement.

“That was my way of being able to showcase to the world what I could do and what my body was capable of rather than being limited by the perceived assumptions from others about what I couldn’t do.”

That mindset fueled her journey to the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games, but the road wasn’t smooth.

The pressure to be able to perform is real and Jessica struggled through it all. While at it, she was also fighting her battles privately with eating disorders and mental health, pushed by the harmful desire to fit into society’s narrow definitions.

From Athlete to Advocate

Even after retiring from competitive swimming, Jessica took up the centre stage.

She did the usual tried-and-tested speeches brimming with high-energy and surface-level inspiration, but none of it sat right with her.

So she went on to do what felt right – Telling people the truth.
Wins, failures, vulnerabilities. Everything nice and fine but also the uglier bits.

 

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A post shared by Jessica Smith OAM PLY (@jessicasmith27)

That’s when her message really started to connect. Today she uses her voice to grow awareness and build a more inclusive world. Her story; as a person with special needs, speaker, author, mother, friend, wife, and more, continues to be an inspiration to many.

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