One thing about me is I don’t like to be controlled. If someone said to me, “Wear a hat tomorrow” in a forceful way, I wouldn’t do it. That’s my choice. Or, “You can’t go out with that guy. He’s too quiet and not energetic enough.” But that is what I like, calm, quiet guys, and if I think that he’s smoking hot, I’m going to date him.

This is how I came to be like this. I had a service coordinator in high school that graded me on everything from posture to communication. This person was not a teacher. She thought she did have the right to grade and she would have continued to in senior year, but I said something to my grandfather and he stepped up.

Because I have a disability, people think that I need them to step up and become in charge of me. That doesn’t sit well with me. I don’t do well when I’m controlled and I won’t stand for it. I wasn’t raised to let other people walk all over me.

I don’t like to be taken advantage of, or controlled. I like my freedom of choices. If I was to get an apartment tomorrow, people could give me advice on how to design it, but I have something in my head. With their ideas, the design may be altered. But I want to have the final say in the decorations.

Please don’t control anyone that has a physical disability and can think for themselves.  There are people that just are trying to help, but there are ones that are too forceful.

If someone said, “I think that you should paint your room a hot pink because you’re a young woman and you should have a vibrant color”, and you say, “Aw, but that’s too loud.  I think I should do it a soft lavender or an earthtone color”, then the subject is open to a discussion.  You have to be careful how you word things to people with disabilities because they could interpret your intent wrong.  Please keep this in mind.

Thank you

I am happy to announce that I have two consecutive chapters of my autobiography completed.  Now I have to figure out the first chapter of my book.  I did my preschool and camp chapters first because I knew exactly what I wanted to say.  I have to sort out how to do the beginning given that a lot went on and I don’t know a lot of it.  What my trouble is is organizing things that occurred simultaneously or the order of which they occurred.  I will have to do a lot of questioning about my early years.  Right now, the title is Rocky Roads On The Way To Heaven.  

I think there will be surprises that people don’t know about me.  This book will hopefully pursue more equality for people with all kinds of disabilities and it will be a eye-opener for society.

Just wanted everyone to know a book is coming.  I just am taking time a long time to craft it.

So I am in my homestretch of my education years. I will graduate with my paralegal certificate in May and I have a few ideas of what I want to do with my certificate.

1. Government Agencies. I guess my first choice is to work with Social Security or the Department of Motor Vehicles. I have experience with getting services from both government agencies and I liked the environment.
2. Working in the County Court. I would be interested in helping out my county like my grandfather helped out my hometown. I honor what he did with his life more than people know and now that he’s gone, I feel that as his granddaughter, I should step up and continue his work.
3. Disability Advocacy. I closed this one out for a while, but I want to reopen it. As a person with a disability, I could really be useful to disability advocacy from insurance to disability rights.
4. Notary.  I would like to handle paperwork. I am interested in writing deeds or contracts.

I hope that with such different directions that I’m interested in that I find a good job and I find something that pays well. More than that, I hope that I can assist the public in their needs.

I see so many commercials for Shriner’s Hospital and St. Jude’s Hospital, and I wonder how many people actually donate?

My grandmother is a St. Jude’s Hospital fan and I’m a Shriner’s Hospital fan. I can’t help but wonder, what if more people donated and they raised a lot more money than they currently are getting? What medical advances would we see in the upcoming decade?   Would a cancer be cured? Would a disability be cured?

Please donate to one of these charities or a different charity as the holiday season starts. These children deserve our help and I want them to have the best holiday season ever.

Thank you for your support.