In this talk, Will Cotter shares background information on his life prior to his spinal injury: his hobbies, academics, personal relationships, and passions. Will Cotter highlights new experiences that he has come to love and how he has adapted to new methods for doing things that he used to be capable of doing. Cotter discusses the psychological and emotional struggles that are associated with spinal cord injury, and how he has learned to use changing perception to overcome these challenges. Will Cotter, 19 years old, is currently studying neuroscience at Florida State University. He plans to attend medical school in hopes of one day aiding spinal cord injury research. He endured an injury to his cervical vertebrae 6 and 7 shortly after graduating from high school and has been recovering ever since. His goal is to recover completely to demonstrate that even the implications of chronic injuries can be overcome. He owes a great deal of appreciation to the community that supported him throughout the entire process and his family, who never saw anything but the best in him. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx