Author: Marie Nicole Zimmerle

A few days ago my friend @iamreneemarino asked her audience What would you tell your younger self that would help you today?

I would tell the younger me that there will be opportunities for me to influence others and be influenced by others, there is power in community. Secondly dance will change the way you feel about yourself and the way you move through the world. 

Say it with Joy

Celebrate it with performance

Share it with pride

Today @boundlessbabesociety  asked the question How do you get through hard times.  For me, talking with God always helps in any situation, but when frustration comes up because of difficulties in movement or hearing too much opinion, being able to connect to one of my BBS Sisters is so helpful because I know that they have been through or are going through the same things I am.  I love my sisters.

When I was in Elementary school my favorite subjects were reading and history. 

When I was in high school my favorite subjects were, choir, government and English.

In college my favorite subjects were speech, psychology and Sociology

I sent @vp a message

Hi madam VP, my name is Marie Nicole Zimmerle I’m 42 And a disabled woman who lives in California. I am very afraid of my rights being taken away because Trump is in office. But I want you to know that my voice will not be silenced because of who our president is. I am a board member of Lanterman Regional Center In Los Angeles and I have recently stepped into my self-acceptance after many many years of denying my disabled body. I want you to know that I won’t be a voice that fights for our freedom and does it. Respectfully

I don’t believe this election went the way that I wanted it to go, and frankly I’m scared for my freedom as a disabled woman and a woman in general

My blog prompts asked me to create a holiday and explain what would happen on that day. I believe that Judy Heumann’s birthday needs to be a national holiday. Judy was a pioneer in the disability community and a leader in the Disability Rights movement. She was a kind person who never met a stranger, but she also was a fighter with a strong voice

Hi! Today I feel like there is a lot to look forward to. I’m grateful that I’m able to use my voice and that I feel the most connected to the disability community than ever before.

I love digging into this lesson in @boundlessbabesociety when I see and hear a non-disabled person talking about authentic representation it seems so strange because you have to get to know a person to know who they are. While the same thing holds true to the disability community, we have had to fight against the stereotypes of being disabled.
As disabled people we deserve and should be asked to tell our own stories and be joyful in our lives.  It’s taken me a long time to be  proud of how I was created and I am now happy to be part of the culture shift about disability that we are trying to teach society. 

Today is a very special day for a few reasons. Today is the twenty first anniversary of Wicked, which is one of my favorite musicals. Wicked premiered the year I turned 21, the year I lost my best friend Noel and I began to feel bad about how I looked and moved through this world.
In 2021 my life changed for good when I joined @boundlessbabesociety and my mentors @reneedollenmayer and @nikkiwalsh.adaptfit came into my life and began to push and guide me to become the woman they knew I could be. I’ve been a green girl my whole life, but it’s because of these women that I call my Glindas that I am a proud green girl who finally realized her weird quirks were a gift.

This stubborn Elphaba loves you ladies 💚💚