I’ve honestly slacked on self-care lately but one of the things I love doing is writing in my journal that is on my phone.
2. What are you currently working on?
Encouragement notes keeps me busy at least once a week, and the weeks I go to concerts or play more than once a week. I also am in rehearsals for the Christmas Season at church.
3. Did you have a job as a teenager?
I have never worked for a paycheck, but when I was a teenager when I was in high school, my friends and I would volunteer for our kid’s summer day camp called Summer Spectacular. I was the office attendant who would sign the children out at the end of the day.
4. What Kind of Disability do you have?
I have spastic diplegia cerebral palsy and hydrocephalus
5. What are your favorite foods?
Sushi
Mexican
Pasta
6. What made you start your podcast and how did you do it?
I started my podcast because I watched a video by a creator named Gary Vaynerchuk he goes by Gary V on all of his social media. In the video that I watched he said that people were turning their attention from watching a YouTube video to Simply listening to a YouTube video. So h his advice was to start a podcast because people were listening to information more than they were watching it. I started my podcast using an app called anchor which is now called Spotify for podcasters.
7. Do you believe in coincidences?
No, I don’t. I believe that we were all created by God on purpose and for a purpose.
Ephesians 2:8-10 NIV [8] For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— [9] not by works, so that no one can boast. [10] For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ableism is the belief that people who do not have a disability or Superior to people who do have a disability. I had to do a lot of self-advocacy in this area starting from when I was very young. I fought for my right to sing as a teenager in my junior high and High School choir. The auditorium was inaccessible during my junior high years, so my parents would come and help me up the steps. But one day seemingly out of the blue my school said that that was no longer possible and my choir director said that’s only way I could participate was to sing from the floor while all my other friends were on stage. So I did some advocacy work in late Junior High and early High School and they told my story to a bunch of people and that led to having a ramp built to the stage from the outside of the school. The excuse that I was given by the adults was that the area that was going to be used for the ramp if it were to be built was that there was a 100-year-old tree in that space and they did not want to kill the tree. But eventually, the tree died and I got my right to sing. Nowadays I navigate ableism simply by speaking up, telling people how you want to be helped and how you don’t want to be helped is super important.
9. How do you feel now and where are you at with accepting your disability?
Now in October 2023, I feel great. Now I know that I have an amazing Community around me of boundless babe sisters who I can lean on whenever I have a problem and I need to vent. And I now see myself as beautiful and confident.
10. How has your Viewpoint changed from when you were little to now?
My viewpoint has greatly changed about myself. I no longer see my disability as something that needs to be fixed. I love the camaraderie of the community and I wouldn’t want to go back for anything.
11. What would you say to your younger self?
I would say that things were going to get better and that eventually I would see real, beautiful, empowering women who look like me and who didn’t live a sad life.
12. I know you love Broadway, what are some of your favorite shows that you identify with the most?
This question can be answered with three musicals. I love Wicked even more now than I did when I was in my twenties because I now identify as a green girl in this stage of my self-acceptance Journey. If you google the disability pride flag you will see that all of the colors correspond to different types of disabilities and cerebral palsy corresponds with green disabilities. Those are sensory disabilities. At this stage of my life, I am so happy and proud to be a green girl and I love the empowerment that Wicked teaches and then I’m learning to have in my own life.
13. What are some of your guilty pleasures?
Coffee and sweets. I’ve been drinking coffee regularly since I was 14 years old. My grandma got me hooked on it. When I would stay at her house, we would drink coffee and have something sweet while watching our novellas.
14. What do you do to take care of your mind body and spirit when you need to rest?
At night I will Journal on my phone and when I’m truly not feeling good I’ll try to take a nap. First and foremost though prayer is a big part of my life.
15. Who do you look up to the most, who is your biggest inspiration?
My first answer to that would be my mom. My mom has done a lot for me growing up and now as an adult. Another woman that I look up to is my pastor’s wife Judy. I met her when I was 4 years old and I first went to the church I go to now. She has been there for me to help me out with problems and she also helps me get on stage when we sing in choir she is a very amazing speaker and watching her teach has taught me a lot.
16. What needs to be done for accessibility in theater spaces, what would you like to see?
This has to be by far my favorite question. I would love to see the world of Broadway take action in making their theater spaces accessible to everybody not only the house spaces but backstage as well. I think that they should consider a staggered shutdown of every theater space in the United States and around the world so that actors who have disabilities as well as other theater people can be hired in the roles they want to take on. Specifically, I would love to see theaters have accessible backstage entrances, accessible dressing rooms and bathrooms with no barrier entrances, no barrier showers bars in the toilet area, and shower chairs. Ultimately I dream of Nessa Rose legitified in the role by being cast with an actual wheelchair user. I think that if Wicked chose to do this it would change the world drastically. Furthermore, I would love to see Elphaba be played by a green girl, someone who has cerebral palsy as discussed in an earlier question. And even furthermore I would love to see roles that are not traditionally cast with people with disabilities to be cast with people with disabilities so that we can get the visibility that others in the disability community need to see. I think my life would have been so different if I were to seen somebody who looked like me on a stage. I would love to see roles that are not traditionally cast with people with disabilities become cast with people with disabilities so that by our example people would see that anything is possible.
17. Do you have a favorite podcast topic?
Encouragement notes was primarily built on reteaching the sermon notes that I learned in church and it has grown to include my viewpoint on disability as well as talking about entertainment such as my favorite singers.
I would say that my ideal week would be one packed with lots of activities even though I am a person now who enjoys time at home and I’m not always meeting to go somewhere to be happy. However, my ideal week would consist of church on Sunday bible study on Thursday which is now my new Bible study day dance class on Tuesday and Boundless Babe Society on the last Thursday of the month. This question makes me miss the structure of Rollettes experience because it was filled with a lot of activities.
Hi everyone my name is Marie Nicole I am 41 years old.
I was born 11 weeks premature. As a result of my very early birthday, I developed a brain hemorrhage and spent the first 3 months of my life in the N.I.C.U. at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles; during which time I had my first operation to repair the hemorrhage with the placement of a shunt because I was diagnosed with hydrocephalus.
When I was one year old I was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. As a result of my diagnosis, I was put into physical therapy and had what I refer to as my. “Miracle operation when I was 7.
The operation allowed me to begin walking with a walker a few weeks after the operation Therapy was a weekly part of my life until I was 13. At this point in my life I told my mom that I had had enough of therapy and I wasn’t going anymore because it “sucked
As a result of my attitude and rebellion walking eventually became difficult and as a result, I had to have another operation and learn how to walk again at the age of 15. High School had its ups and downs educationally and socially. I was teased in school, but I was also a go-getter who at the time was the only wheelchair user to be a member of our school choir all six years throughout junior high and high school. Being at Eagle Rock Jr. Sr. High School was my doorway to self-advocacy.
As a result of being told that I would not be allowed to participate on stage with my fellow students and friends. I was asked to tell my story at USC. As a result of my efforts and the efforts of many others a ramp was built following the death of a 100-year-old tree,
Fast forward to 2003, as a student at Pasadena City College, I met my best friend Noel Williams. During our friendship, we would talk about our view of disability and together we came up with the idea that the words disabled or disability should only be used in regards to things such as a broken down car because these things are incapable of moving, thinking, or feeling. It was awesome to hang out with someone who was confident and proud of the way God had made her. My best friend passed away on December 5th 2003.
in December of 2009. I was 26 and about to end my college career. I was 185 pounds I used a power chair to Get around campus and I was only able to walk short distances at this time. It was also during this time that I was being bombarded by so many unwanted questions and opinions
I was left feeling that something needed to change. so I committed to getting fit and healthy and began my health journey on January 5th 2010
One year later I was blessed with two amazing opportunities! One was a 6 week stint in physical therapy during which time I learned how to walk long distances and the other opportunity was being selected to be on a TV show called Live Big with Ali Vincent. While I was being motivated and encouraged by the new friends that I had made I trained for and completed my first 5k.In 2014 when the show ended I felt the desire to encourage others the way I had been encouraged to live a healthy life.
In November of 2014 my cousin introduced me to a friend of hers who was health and fitness coach in February 2015 I became a health and fitness coach with Beachbody.
As of October 2020, I realized that God was telling me to move on and simply encourage my community with writing and speaking.
On October 21st, I created a podcast called Encouragement Notes which is a mix of everything I have learned in this life God has given me; I share the things I learn in church, I share my view on disability and I share my experiences around performance and viewing live concerts and theatre.
Fast forward to July 2021, After the discovery of a YouTube channel called Wheels2walking, I gained the courage to virtually attend Rollettes Experience for the first time. It was the first time that I had the confidence to introduce myself to powerful women who looked like me and had amazing goals! Right after RE I applied for and was accepted into Boundless Babe Society This is the Rolettes mentorship program that teaches women with disabilities to live their lives with confidence and how to deal with different situations in life. It is an amazing opportunity for any woman or teen girl with a disability and I am so happy that I joined in the first place and that they have decided to start a graduate program, which means that women who have already graduated from the program can still be involved in the program. I look forward to continuing the sharing of my journey with you God bless you and talk to you soon.
I am beyond grateful for the experience that I’ve had these past 3 weeks. I received the opportunity to be a part of a leadership and advocacy training program and I cannot believe that it is almost over. Some of the things about my website will change because I want it to represent the presentation that I want to give next week my goal is to condense information but still fully tell my story.
Identity informs action. If you identify as a child of God, Don’t say you are and choose to live like a lone ranger. Find a group of people who will walk alongside you and help you become the person God intended you to be! I love my sisters in my life group. They have helped me stretch my faith and see where I need to grow. I love how this group is not afraid to dig deep into scripture and wrestle with it all the wild, knowing that God brought us together for a reason and that he loved us and gives us Grace❤️
Thank you so much to those who have supported me and Encouragement Notes for the past two years. I believe that my purpose in life is to help people be the person that God created them to be. I 1000% believe that this was given to me as a ministry to show people that you can live a full life and still follow Jesus Christ. Being a follower of Christ does not mean that you have to live a dull life.
This morning I had my final zoom call with the ladies of The Boundless Babe Society stage one. If you had asked me a year ago if being connected to a group of women who use wheelchairs sounded like a good idea, I would have called you crazy, but my life has changed a lot in the past year, and I recognize the importance of living and not sitting around doing nothing.
Since I have been part of BBS. I have gained the ability to go out independently using a van service called access service. I have enjoyed meeting friends for lunch, hanging out with my family at life group, and having time to myself at cute coffee shops.
I can’t wait to see where God takes me next on this Boundless Journey.
Today is global accessibility awareness day. This is a day of recognizing the things and people that are allies to the people in the disability community.
Thank you to the following people:
Thank you to Feinstein’s at Vitello’s for creating accessibility by adding the chair lift to your place. I truly feel like family when I attend shows at your place.
Thank you also to the federal bar in North Hollywood. I love attending shows upstairs, and I love how easy the access is for a wheelchair and walker user like me.
Thank you also to theatre 68, who gave me a front-row seat to see my friend Renee Marino in a production of Danny and the deep blue sea. Thank you also to Renee Marino for letting me take a Walker-free photo with her on two occasions.
Thank you also to John Lloyd Young, who was the first person to take a walker-free photo with me back in August of 2015.
Last but not least, thank you to my family at Eagle Rock Baptist Church for not giving up on me or leaving me out of things when my movement became a little bit more difficult.
The things I think need to change:
The first thing that needs to be changed is the restaurants that use the accessible bathroom stall or the walkway to the bathroom for high chair storage space. Companies need to require their employees to go through a training called theother side of the chair. A training in which wheelchairs, walkers, and other assistive equipment is used to give people the experience of those who use that equipment daily.
Another improvement that needs to be made is accessibility in entertainment. The only way that crip face casting will become a thing of the past is if theatres and movie and tv filming locations become accessible.
The definition of Cripface casting is- casting someone in the role of a disabled person when the actor has no life experience as a person with a disability.
Society still has a lot to learn, but I do believe that things have the potential to get better.
I was born 11 weeks early and I was diagnosed with hydrocephulus. I got my CP diagnosis when I was one year old.
3. How did you Feel about CP growing up?
When I was little, I did not feel different from my friends. I participated in all the activities at my church; choir, Sunday School youth group, and camp. I also went to concerts with my friends when I was a teenager, and I. Also played baseball. My dad was my coach.
4. Do you ever think about what life would be like without CP?
Yes, I do. Sometimes I think about it more often than others. When I think about it, I think about how easy it would be to do different tasks like get out of the house.
5. How has CP impacted my life?
Having CP has definitely impacted my life mentally and emotionally as well as physically. It’s a pain in the butt to do specific tasks, and when I was younger, it was hard to be taken out of school because of surgery recovery. Weekly physical therapy was also something I did not like.
6. How was schooling with CP?
It wasn’t a nightmare, but it was a headache. I often had to advocate for what I wanted, and it was often assumed that I would do less than I knew I was capable of doing.
7. How has CP Changed throughout your life?
When I was little, I accepted my CP, and I didn’t think I was different; it was until seventh grade that things got difficult for me because someone who was getting teased in school started teasing me. The relationship I have with myself and myself and my CP is great. I have learned that it’s important to have a sense of community and being connected to the Rollettes and the Boundless Babe Society.
8. How will things change for people with disabilities?
I hope that there will be tons of changes for people with disabilities. The first thing I would like to see happen is that crip casting is no longer allowed in movies and TV shows, and theatre productions. I would love to see the Broadway community truly become accessible to performers who have disabilities by making the bathrooms backstage fully accessible by the standards of ADA ( Americans with Disabilities Act). I would also love to see the standards for people to be financially independent and responsible because, as the situation is now, we have to settle for a life in which we cannot be in marriage because of fear that too much financ l gain would cause us to lose our insurance.
Encouragement Notes Podcast 