Yay, we are one day away from my favorite month of the year (besides April because that is my birthday month). March is known as Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month. Still, it should be called Cerebral Palsy Celebration Month because the word awareness sounds like everyone with CP is in a sad situation and needs a cure to become normal. These were the thoughts that I once had, and the cure for this way of thinking is community. Choosing to be part of the disability community instead of being an outsider is the best thing I’ve ever done.
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.
1. Do you wish you would have started sooner, or do you think you started at the right time?
I think I started at the right time. I felt God telling me I needed to tell my story to more people.
2. Who inspired you to start your podcast?
When I started my podcast, I was in a Facebook group called, Becoming a Master communicator through imperfect action; this group is led by Renee Marino, the leading lady in the movie Jersey Boys. After a sixteen-year career as an actor, Renee became a communication coach.
It was also during this time I came across a video by Gary Vee on YouTube, where he explained how simple it was to start a podcast, so I found a free app and I started recording.
3. Other than church notes, do you plan to expand your podcast to other topics?
I have already expanded my podcast content. It started as simply sharing my sermon notes. Then I began to share my experiences going to concerts and theater. I frequently do gushing reviews of the art that I see. I have also started to share my journey of self-acceptance and what I think about the disability community.
4. What do you wish for your podcast for the next 2 years?
My hope for my podcast for the next two years is that it will continue to grow and show people that being a follower of Christ does not mean your life has to be boring. I also would love to travel Los Angeles and the surrounding areas to tell the story of what God has done in my life in person.
5. Talk about who you were when you first started your podcast and the growth you’ve seen since then.
When I started my podcast in October 2020, I was learning new techniques for becoming a better speaker. The biggest lesson that I learned about public speaking is that being a heart-centered speaker does not mean that you speak without preparation. It’s a wise idea to have a bullet point list in front of you to keep you on track with what you want to say.
At this time, I was also starting my journey of self-acceptance. I started watching youtube videos about equipment being only equipment and self-perception. Shortly after this, I started researching Rollette’s Dance team. I signed up for Rollette’s Experience 2021, and I attended virtually from home. It was one of the most life-changing experiences ever, and I would encourage any wheelchair using woman who felt like she needed a sense of community to consider attending Rollette’s 2023.
6. How did you start your podcast, and what was the first thing I did?
I found a free app called Anchor and started talking into my phone; you don’t need fancy equipment.
Here are the links to the people and things I’ve talked about.
Happy #GreenGirlDay, everyone. This theatre nerd is determined to make that phrase a thing because I love the musical Wicked, and cerebral palsy is represented by green 💚I asked all of you in my audience to send me your questions regarding CP or just life in general, and I got six amazing questions! You can keep sending me your questions, because I love doing Q and A episodes. Here are the six questions I was asked.
1. What is the biggest misconception about Cerebral Palsy?
This question can be answered in two ways. One, people may often think that CP looks the same in everyone who is diagnosed with it, when in fact, there are four main types of CP and how it affects a person depends on what part of the brain is injured.
In regards to social misconceptions. A person should never assume that a person with CP or any other disability is incapable of speaking up for themselves. If you are in a conversation with a person who uses a piece of equipment and a person who does not use any equipment, be sure to talk to both people. We can speak for ourselves, and we do not always need someone to speak for us.
2. Were you born prematurely?
Yes, I was born eleven weeks early. I was born in Glendale, California, but immediately rushed to Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, where I spent my first three months of life and had my first major operation.
3. How are you doing?
I am doing great! My life group semester started a few weeks ago, and I am attending two groups this semester—one on Tuesday night and one on Wednesday night. I love having the freedom that access service provides. It allows me to be independent.
4. Do you have a plan for the future?
Yes and no, it’s like seeing steps without seeing the staircase. I am working on building my independence by using my walker basket, and I am grateful that I know how to get myself dressed. I would suggest to anyone looking to increase or start to develop physical independence to look into going to physical therapy for the purpose of it being life skills therapy. Therapy is one of the most frustrating, physically and mentally draining experiences I have ever been through, but I am grateful that I spent a year learning to dress myself.
5. What do you wish people understood most about you?
I want people to understand that I will not be able to do everything 100% correctly every day. I have good days, and I have “off” days.
6. What is my biggest struggle?
Getting dressed can be a big one. The time that it takes me to get dressed can depend on how I am feeling and what I choose to wear.
Yesterday Auti Angel, A community groundbreaker in the disability and dance community, passed away from breast cancer. She fought hard, and she knew who her savior was and is. She will be missed, and she will be remembered always; she’s probably teaching a dance class in heaven right now
When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said, “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” So this is what the soldiers did. Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” John 19:23-28 NIV
1. In Christ’s suffering he turned his focus toward others
2. On the cross Christ gave us the gift of a new family
3. While Christ held family in high regard, he held God’s family in the highest regard.
4. Christ’s work on the cross informs us how we should engage with God’s family
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name , he gave the right to become children of God
Hi, I hope you have a beautiful Sunday! What are you looking forward to today? Today I’m going to church for the first time this year. It’s also a special day, because my friend’s daughter is going to be baptized. Have an awesome day. Talk again soon!
This time of reflection is based on a podcast episode of #Detailtherapy by my friend and mentor, Amy Landino
1. What Am I most proud of?
I’m proud of myself for realizing that it’s ok to be a wheelchair user. It has opened up so many. opportunities for me. Because I decided to become a wheelchair user again, that led me want to use Access service and go out on my own. Even though my outings are simple, I have felt so much freedom, and I feel like a brand new woman. I’m also proud that I chose to attend Rollettes Experience 2021 in July virtually and that I’ve continued to take dance classes.
2. When did I have the most fun?
I’ve had fun with everything that I’ve been able to do this year. I love hanging out with my life group at church. I love my solo coffee dates with myself because they help me brainstorm new podcast ideas and get clear-headed in general. I also have had fun going to see my favorite singers perform, and I am grateful to call them my friends.
3. Where did you fail?
I have not used my handcycle at all, and I said I would get strong arms to push myself. The second place I feel like I failed was that I didn’t spend that much time with my cousin while she was sick. I also am still kicking myself for second-guessing her pain and her faith. She had more faith in Christ Jesus than I had ever imagined.
4. Did my theme ring true for 2021?
If I had to name my theme, it would be a new attitude, and yes, I think it rang true even more than I expected.
5. What lessons did I learn in 2021?
My relationship with Jesus defines who I am; I don’t have to search for my identity.
Spend time with family and friends and tell them how you feel about them.
It’s important to know what you think about life and how to explain it respectfully if asked to.
It’s fantastic to find a community of people like you who share similar experiences to yours.
The things that I use in my daily life do not define me as a person.
6. Where do I wish I had spent more time?
With my cousins
What will I start?
I will start spending.time with my cousins.
7. What Will I start?
I’ll start using my handcycle, and I’l start creating dance videos.
8. What will I stop?
I’ve done pretty well with this already, but I want to stop judging myself for having a hard day.
9. What do I want to continue?
I want to continue being part of the Rollettes community. I’ve had so much fun getting to know the ladies. I also want to continue being independent and growing friendships with women like me. I also will continue this website and podcast. I can’t wait for the new year.
10. What is my theme for 2022
Marie Nicole Is A Boundless Babe!
This is not only because I’m going to be a member of the Boundless Babe Society but also because I want to experience more in life.
One year ago today, I published my second episode of Encouragement Notes! I created this podcast because I felt God calling me to tell my story on another platform for the purpose of reaching more people for him. Thank you for being here with me. I love and appreciate you. Please feel free to share this podcast with your family and friends and reach out to me with any comments or questions you may have.
Encouragement Notes Podcast 