We are often told that we need to be and look a certain way in order to succeed. We often feel that we can’t achieve more, because we accept that box that society or the world offered us at birth. We accept the “cannot” and quietly embrace it. Luckily, there are some brave people out there who happily question this “box” and proudly say “Yes, I CAN!”
Teo Dumitru is one of these fearless and brave people, an embodiment of the fact that we grow our own wings. We are the only ones who decide if we remove the “im” from “impossible” and embrace the “possible”.
I don’t believe in ‘impossible’ and even though I’m in a wheelchair I’ve never let it define myself or my ability to do everything I wanted to.
Teo Dumitru
Teo was diagnosed with spastic cerebral palsy when she was just 1, but that didn’t stop her to have the best life! She is a top student, Prom Queen at her high-school graduation ball, goes out, partying with her friends and wants to travel the world!
Teo is also a blogger and created a large community on her Facebook page, Teo on Wheels, inspiring her followers every day with her bright and joyful personality. She encourages everyone to fully embrace life and enjoy every bit of it. Writing with her nose, Teo shares her thoughts, wishes, dreams, fears, passions and her insatiable thirst for life.
I love that one of my favorite activities is laughing until I can’t breathe anymore. I love being full of life anytime. And last but not the least, I would never change my confidence for nothing because when I’m confident I’m able to move mountains.
Teo Dumitru
At only 20, Teo achieved so much and her wonderful journey is just getting started. Her dream is to be a renown neurologist and she is now preparing to apply to one of the top medical schools in Spain. With the encouragement of her amazing family, her wonderful mother, Nelly Dumitru, amazing friends and a fantastic community, Teo’s wings are only growing bigger and stronger. I am so grateful and happy to introduce her as my new guest in TEYXO Lifestyle Magazine & Hub.
I think this is the key to my little success so far. I never let others tell me what I’m capable of or not.
Teo Dumitru
You are a true inspiration and the living proof that “impossible” is nothing. If you set your mind on something, you will achieve it! Did you always have this mindset?
Teo: I like to think that I’m like this since I was born. Somehow, I know that’s true because I remember I have always been stubborn and I’ve never given up until I proved them wrong. I think this is the key to my little success so far. I never let others tell me what I’m capable of or not.
You are full of light and joy, where do you get your energy from?
Teo: I try to find the beauty in everything around me. That’s why my positive energy comes from beautiful things like smiles of strangers on the street or a good and inspirational quote. Joy comes from joy and when the people I love are happy, I can’t help but be thankful and happy.
Photographed by Cristian Pop
What inspires you?
Teo: People who love living life as much as I do. People who have the courage to do everything they have been dreaming about. I just love the people who show the world that happiness can be found as long as we’re ready to escape from the comfort zone and start doing what we are the most afraid of. I’ve always been inspired by the people who decide to change their lives because they’ve realized that they need something else, something more.
What makes you truly happy?
Teo: First of all, I’m happy since I know myself. I’d be a hypocrite if I said I don’t enjoy when I achieve a new goal from my bucket-list of the things I have to do as long as I live. So, I suppose this is what makes me happy, and I live for being happy. I want to check every single point on my list, even though some of them may seem impossible. After all, what does impossible truly mean?
I feel beautiful when I remove my makeup after a long day and I can still smile looking in the mirror. I feel beautiful when I wear elegant dresses at a party, I feel beautiful when I wear red or black lipstick. I feel beautiful when I’m a little bit tanned and I don’t wear makeup. I don’t think we need a special moment for feeling beautiful.
Teo Dumitru
What motivates you?
Teo: The answer to this question would be the things I’ve already done. Every time I look back in my past and I think about everything I achieved in my 20 years of living I realize that I’m awesome and somehow unstoppable. As I said before, I don’t believe in ‘impossible’ and even though I’m in a wheelchair I’ve never let it define myself or my ability to do everything I wanted to.
Photography by Gabriel Stanciu
How would you define beauty?
Teo: Beauty is a state of mind, something that comes from ourselves. Beauty is not a thing that is defined by society and it has no boundaries. It can’t be limited to a couple of irrelevant patterns. It’s something about ourselves that we can control from the inside. We are beautiful when we feel beautiful. Everyone is beautiful in their own way.
Was there any particular moment when you fully embraced yourself, your body, your beauty?
Teo: To be honest, I like my body and myself every single day. I truly think I’m beautiful, not only on the outside but also on the inside. It’s not about being arrogant, it’s about being confident and comfortable in your skin. I feel beautiful when I dress up and I go out with my friends, I feel beautiful when I remove my makeup after a long day and I can still smile looking in the mirror. I feel beautiful when I wear elegant dresses at a party, I feel beautiful when I wear red or black lipstick. I feel beautiful when I’m a little bit tanned and I don’t wear makeup. I don’t think we need a special moment for feeling beautiful.
If you had to choose 3 things that you love most about yourself, what would those be?
Teo: I never thought about this before, but let’s see. First of all, I like that I never say “no” when it comes to a dare. Sometimes I’m amazed by myself and my capacity to show people I’m more than a “poor” girl sitting in a wheelchair. Then, I love that one of my favorite activities is laughing until I can’t breathe anymore. I love being full of life anytime. And last but not the least, I would never change my confidence for nothing because when I’m confident I’m able to move mountains.
My success is something I’m proud of and so far, I can say I’m proud of myself and the woman I’ve become. I believe that I’m a successful woman as long as I’m happy because I live to be happy, I live to find joy in every single thing that I do. I live to accomplish the impossible and I think this is my version of success.
Teo Dumitru
How do you feel about the body image promoted everywhere nowadays? Is it helping young people and young girls especially to have a more positive idea about their own bodies?
Teo: I think it’s important to promote every type of beauty. I know how important it is for a young girl to feel beautiful and even though we can’t define beauty by the sizes of the body, for a teenager it is a little bit hard seeing herself beautiful if she sees just one type of beauty in magazines and all over the internet. For example, in modeling, there are so many tall girls. I’m a minion (at 1,5 m). Does it mean that I’m not beautiful? Of course not, but I would like to see short girls as models too. Also, when I started writing on my blog, I felt like I had to say “Wheelchair girls can be beautiful too!” because there are so few people who think about it, especially in Romania. It should be a fact well-known, without special specifications.
Who is your favorite book or film character and why?
Teo: Gone with the Wind is such an inspiring book for many reasons, but what I like most about it is the main character, Scarlett O’Hara, is an independent woman who always finds solutions for every problem. She’s the type of woman I’d like to be, a strong and an unstoppable woman who knows exactly what she wants.
How would you describe the colors to someone who is blind? What about music to someone who never heard a sound?
Teo: As far as colors are concerned, I’d associate them with feelings. It means that I think every color has an emotion or state of mind with which we can compare it. For example, for me pink is for femininity and independence, red is for power and confidence, yellow is for innocence and joy, and so on and so forth. As far as the sounds are concerned, I’d describe them as thoughts that need to be said. A storm of thoughts that are exposed through vibrations.
If you could time travel, where and when would you go? Would you also like to meet someone (famous or not), while you are there?
Teo: Recently, I set a new goal: I want to see all the breathtaking places around the world. I want to explore different kinds of cultures, to eat different types of food, to take pictures in all of these places. I want to meet people who can teach me new things that would help me grow and accumulate so much experience in many of life’s fields. And if I were to choose one celebrity that I would like to meet I’d let the teenager out of me speak and I would say Shawn Mendes because I really like his music. I let myself be inspired by his music.
If your life would have a soundtrack, what would that be?
Teo: I don’t know if I could choose a soundtrack that would never change because my life is in a continuous change. It’s hard to pick only a few songs that would describe my story, but I definitely could say that there would be motivational songs (such as “In my blood” by Shawn Mendes), feminine songs (anything by Ariana Grande), happy songs (songs in Spanish), and songs with meaningful lyrics (here I would name artists like Ed Sheeran or James Bay). As you can see, my tastes in music are kind of cliché for a young woman, but I don’t think it matters because my story is special enough.
When I started writing on my blog, I felt like I had to say “Wheelchair girls can be beautiful too!” because there are so few people who think about it, especially in Romania. It should be a fact well-known, without special specifications.
Teo Dumitru
What is your biggest dream today?
Teo: Right now, all I wish for is to be admitted to the university in Spain and start studying medicine. In this moment of my life, I need to focus on my future plans. My dream is to become one of the most known neurologists. Maybe it sounds a little bit dreamy, but I already said that nothing is impossible.
What is your success? What does it look like?
Teo: My success is something that depends on me and I’m the only one who can control it. My success is something I’m proud of and so far, I can say I’m proud of myself and the woman I’ve become. I believe that I’m a successful woman as long as I’m happy because I live to be happy, I live to find joy in every single thing that I do. I live to accomplish the impossible and I think this is my version of success.
