Identity development is a difficult process for many people with disabilities. Individuals who have disabilities often struggle to come to terms with their identities. As a person with cerebral palsy, I spent most of my life struggling with my identity. I tried to reject my disability in order to fit in with the able-bodied world. However, my attempts to fit in always failed. Then in 2004 I had an intellectual awakening that allowed me to come out as a person with disability and embrace my membership in disability culture. This autoenthnographic inquiry is my attempt to understand my journey of identity development. This dissertation examines the various factors that co-created my identity. Moreover, I use Gill's (1997) model of identity development in order to examine how the process of embracing my membership in disability culture has impacted my identity. This dissertation posits that the process of identity development cannot be adequately encapsulated in a theoretical model. Instead, disability as a marker of social identity operates in contradictory ways. Furthermore, as a person with a disability I am constantly negotiating my existence between two cultures; the world of disability and the culture of people who are able-bodied. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]