Category: DISABILIATIES
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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…
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Blooming on My Own Time
Category: Growth, Healing & TimingOur Beautiful ChallengesBy Marie W.O.W.C.P. There was a time in my life when I looked around and felt as though everyone else was blooming before me. People seemed to move through life on a timeline that felt so natural. School.Relationships.Careers.Families.Milestones. And for a long time, I quietly wondered why my life…
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The Women Behind the Walker
By Marie W.O.W.C.P. When people first meet me, one of the first things they often notice is my walker. They notice how I move. They notice the pace of my body. They notice the physical challenge before they notice the woman standing behind it. For a long time, that used to bother me. Because while…
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My Disability is Part of the Story, Not the Whole Story
Our Beautiful ChallengesBy Marie W.O.W.C.P. Welcome to Our Beautiful Challenges. This space is more than a blog. It is a place for truth, healing, reflection, and the beauty still to be found within life’s hardest moments. For much of my life, I felt as though people saw one thing first. The way I walk. The…
