Imagine living life with only being able to use one hand to complete everyday tasks. This might be an impossible thought for some people, but senior Kenny Finkelstine has been living his whole life only using his right hand.

Finkelstine was born with a form of cerebral palsy, called left hemiplegia, which causes him to lack the use of his left hand and walks with a slight limp on his left side. Not once in his life has Finkelstine never allowed his small condition to stop him from living his life the way he wants to.

“I was born 11 weeks premature and had a brain hemorrhage a few days after I was born, as a result,” Finkelstine said. “That’s what caused the hemiplegia. As far as the challenges go, the effect it has on me is an inability to play sports, video games, or instruments.”

Finkelstine’s disability has lead him to embark on his journey to greater passions, such as music and scholarly issues.

“The greatest obstacle that Kenny has to face was learning how to do everything one-handed,” Finkelstine’s mom, Ruth said. “He does a lot of things one handed that I could never do. His condition has played a part in his identity to a minimum degree. He was never really drawn to physically demanding things as a kid, and I think that probably steered him more towards the interest of music and intellectual topics.”

Kenny is always providing his class with new observations and different perspectives on different world wide issues.

“Kenny is very respectful and when he does participate, which is pretty often, he always provides good insight about topics that most people my age don’t really think about,” senior Colby Jeffus said. “His personality is very caring and genuine. He really cares about other people broadening their horizons with new types of music or art, and he always brings something new and interesting to the table.”

Although Kenny cannot participate in playing an instrument, that does not stop him from his great love for music. He lives to experience the exciting atmosphere of a live music performance. His favorite class, Scholars, provides him many opportunities in which he can embrace his passion for music.

“We go to concerts, plays and other events at Bass Concert Hall, McCullough Theatre, The Long Center, and Zach Theatre. The events we go to are very eclectic and I enjoy them a lot,” Kenny said.

Not only does Kenny find every purpose of each and every song he listens to, he knows biographies of all of his favorite artists.

“Kenny is always suggesting concerts for our class to attend,” scholar teacher Ethan Ellerbrock said. “He is a curious and courageous kid. He knows more about musicians’ history and background than anyone I have ever met.”

Kenny takes any chance that he has to have a with anyone around him to listen and learn new perspectives.

“He really cares about equal rights,” Ruth said. “He is a really smart guy who loves to gather as much information as he can on any topic or issue and then forms his own opinion about it.”

Kenny doesn’t allow his condition to be something that he is known for. Many people today do not realize that there is a strict division line between a person that is mentally challenged and a person that has a disability.

“I’d say the effect is how others perceive me,” Kenny said. “People who don’t know me well will likely assume I’m mentally disabled as well, due to the fact that the majority of people equate physical disabilities with mental disabilities.”