Category: DISABILIATIES
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They See What’s Different-Not What’s Possible
Disability Pride series Our Beautiful Challenges — Marie There have been so many moments in my life when people noticed my disability before they noticed me. They saw my walker before they saw my smile. They noticed my cerebral palsy before they noticed my personality. Sometimes they made up their minds about what I could…
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Accessibility Is Not One Size Fit All
Disability Pride Series Our Beautiful Challenges — Marie One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned about disability is that accessibility is not one size fits all. For years, people with disabilities have fought for equal access. The ADA changed our country in incredible ways, making schools, businesses, transportation, and housing more accessible than ever before.…
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The Ugly Laws: The History Many People Never Learned
Disability Pride Month Series Our Beautiful Challenges — Marie One of the reasons I wanted to create a Disability Pride Month series was because I realized that many people—even people within the disability community—don’t know some of the history that shaped our lives today. I know I didn’t. Not long ago, I learned about something…
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What is the Disability Pride Flag Mean to Me
Disability Pride Month Series — Marie W.O.W.C.P. When I look at the Disability Pride Flag, I do not just see colors. I see stories. I see people. I see history. And I see pride. For many years, I struggled with what disability meant in my own life. Not because I hated who I was. But…
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The Generation In Between
Disability Pride Month Series — Marie W.O.W.C.P. Sometimes I feel like I belong to a generation that existed between two worlds. I was born after the disability rights movement had already begun changing lives, but before many of those changes fully reached everyday life. I was born after people had already started fighting for accessibility,…
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Learning to Adapt Without Giving Up
Identity & Personal Growth,Living with Cerebral Palsy Our Beautiful Challenges — Marie One thing living with cerebral palsy has taught meis that life can change at a moment’s notice. You can wake up with plans for the day.You can organize everything perfectly.You can mentally prepare yourself for what needs to get done. And then your…
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When a Chapter of Womanhood Begins to Close
Women’s Health & Womanhood,Identity & Personal Growth There is a part of life that every woman eventually reaches,but no two women experience it the same way. Some women welcome it.Some fear it.Some grieve it quietly. And some of us do not realize how deeply it will affect us until we are standing in the middle…
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I Wasn’t Meant to Be Fixed (Part 2)
A Healthier Me, A More Independent Me Disability & Advocacy,Identity & Personal Growth Before I talk about how I take care of myself… I need to share how I see myself. There are parts of myself I’m still learning how to understand. One of the hardest has been my frustration. For years, I went to…
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The Life I Thought I’d Have Vs. The Life I Built
The Life I Thought I’d Have vs. The Life I Built Part 1: The White Dress I May Never Wear Category: Love, Relationships & Life ChoicesOur Beautiful ChallengesBy Marie W.O.W.C.P. There are certain dreams many women grow up holding in their hearts. For some, it is the dream of the white dress. The wedding day.…
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I Am Allowed to Take Up Space
By Marie W.O.W.C.P. For a long time, I tried to make myself smaller. Smaller in my voice. Smaller in my needs. Smaller in the space I took up in the world. Living with cerebral palsy sometimes made me feel as if I was already noticed before I even spoke. People noticed how I walked. They…
OUR BEAUTIFUL CHALLENGES 