Photo: HECTOR GUERRERO/AFP/Getty Images

When you're 14, life is lived in superlatives. "If this zit is still on my forehead tomorrow, I will die." "If you let me wear this mini-skirt I will finally have a life worth living." Or, you know: "I'll be the happiest girl in the world if I get a place at the London [Paralympic] games."

So says Jessica Rogers, the 18 inch tall, 14-year-old swimmer who hopes to take home the 2012 Paralympic gold. And I for one believe her. This girl is amazing. First of all, will you look at her arm muscles? She is buff.  Jessica was born with Caudal Regression Syndrome, which means she has no lower spine and extremely small legs. Jessica also engages in a grueling training schedule, waking up at 3:30 every morning before school to prepare for the Paralympics, according to the Daily Mail. As she told the Mail, "When I'm swimming, I feel free."

Her mother, who adopted her when she was a baby, calls Jessica, "a typical teenager," and told the Mail that she's "incredibly determined. But she sees herself as the same as everyone else." And she is. Except  that she's a much, much better swimmer. And she doesn't seem to spend any time feeling sorry for herself:  "I don't think I'm special—I was born like this and just get on with life. Everyone is different in their own way." We have to disagree: Jessica seems pretty special to us.

Learn more about Jessica's charity for other kids born with Caudal Regression Syndrome and see an amazing video of her swimming, at the Huffington Post.