Steele Canyon Student Reveals 'Secret' On YouTube

Eric Grzeskowiak could feel the questions in his fellow students' minds at Steele Canyon High School. Even though they would never ask, he always feared that they were making judgments, or talking behind his back.

"I wonder what's wrong with him? Why does he limp like that?"

So, after being encouraged by his younger sister, Annabell, Eric, an 18-year-old senior, decided to tell his story – on YouTube.

Eric posted a video that revealed that he has cerebral palsy by holding up a stack of index cards with the words he wanted to say written on them. This method has become an increasingly popular form of self-expression among tech-savvy youth.

"My sister showed me a video of a young girl who told her story that way," said Eric. "I thought it might be the easiest way to tell people I had cerebral palsy. I was mostly just trying to spread the word, to get it off my chest."

Eric said that only about four people had already known that he had the brain disorder, which affects his learning ability, speech, and certain motor skills. He said that his right leg is longer than his left leg, which causes him to limp when he walks, and that his right side is much more dominant than his left side.

He said his goal was simply to clear the air, and answer the inevitable questions that his fellow students must have when he walks by.

"I didn't really feel a lot of pressure coming from them, but I always thought they could just be being nice to me just because," Eric said.

But a funny thing happened after Eric posted the video – and it was something that he didn't expect. His video started getting thousands of views and a multitude of comments from people from all over the country, thanking him for being an inspiration.

In his video, Eric says that he's one of the lucky ones, as he his still able to walk and function in spite of his disorder. But his message is a simple one: Don't be afraid of who you are, because something might surprise you.

"People are being so supportive," he said. "I have read some of the comments from moms saying their kids are diagnosed with cerebral palsy, and they want their kids to grow up to be as strong as I have been."

Eric was born in Ocean Beach, but moved to Spring Valley when he was about 4. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was only one year old. Eric is passionate about sports and about video production, and he has combined those passions into a job at Steele Canyon. He records all of the football and basketball games for the coaches to use as game film to study. It's something that he says he wants to pursue for a career. He also loves country and rap music, and is writing his own songs.

To date, his video has amassed almost 79,000 views and garnered more than 650 comments.

"I never thought it would be that big," he admitted.

But he also said that he's glad that he was able to possibly help and inspire people, from what started as a personal cathartic experience.

"It makes me feel good. I always thought that people were always thinking certain things about me, and now they look up to me," he said. "I never thought that I could ever be a person that people look up to."

Still, there were a few commenters who didn't have good things to say about a certain piece of apparel that he wore in the video.

"My Miami Heat hat," he said, laughing. "That's the only criticism I got!"

After posting the video, he was also profiled on KUSI. You can get to know Eric better by following him on Facebook.