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.
Is there a reason you don’t have guests on your podcast and you think that will change in the future?
The reason I do not have guests on my podcast is because typically I speak about what I learn in church and share the weeks sermon notes with my audience. The main reason I begin encouragement notes was to show people how Jesus wants us to live. If at any time there was a friend of mine who wanted to talk about the subject of disability or share something that is faith-based then I would consider having a guest on my podcast. But usually it is just me and my sermon notes.
How do you think Rollette’s Expirence will be different than it has in years past?
I’m expecting Rollette’s Experience to be very different this year for me than it has in years past. I attended my first year virtually in 2021 when the world was still in the throes of the pandemic. If you know my story you know that God used 2020 and 2021 to drastically change my perspective about using a wheelchair. I was ecstatically happy when I attended my first RE and I knew I needed to stay involved. In 2022 I attended my first in person event and we were all blessed to meet the amazing leader of the disability rights movement, Judy Heumann. When I met Judy on the first day, it was the experience of a lifetime! I was left speechless and for those of you who know me personally no that I’m never left speechless. She asked me what I do, and I said I’m a podcaster; one of the members of her team said oh, cool, Judy is too; we will look you up. And I was floored! I was like oh my gosh the leader of the disability rights movement is going to look me up! I had the opportunity to attend Judy’s keynote speech and interview and while at that event I was able to tell Judy about my experience when I was a little girl. I was 8 years old when the Ada was made law, and I told Judy that because of the rules in place before the Ada was signed into law, I could only play with two friends that were not in my class. What the Ada did for the disability community was that it opened up a plethora of opportunities to work, travel, and attend events like theater and concerts. It was amazing to get to see Judy in action and she made time to talk to every single woman and girl in the room there was nobody that she missed out on connecting with.
I also expect to move differently this year because I’m working actively on strengthening my arms so I can push myself more effectively. Last year I felt really slow.
Do you have any travel goals you want to achieve?
Going to New York has always been a dream of mine, always meaning since I was 12 years old. I attended Jesus Christ Superstar on its 25th-anniversary tour, and the original actor who played Jesus in the movie, Ted Neely, was in the show. From then on, I knew that I wanted to have the theater be a part of my life in some way, if that means being in a show or simply being an audience member; going to New York is a dream of mine, and I think that my dream can become a reality soon, I need to save the money for it. There is a company that describes itself as Expedia for wheelchair users; it is called Wheel the World. Clients can make their travel reservations through their company and they help you find the best accessibility for you anywhere in the world.
October 6th is international cerebral palsy day. I would like to do a podcast episode that is a Q&A episode with questions from you all about life with CP. Your questions can be about anything since I live with CP, they do not necessarily need to be medical questions they can be anything about my daily life. Please go ahead and leave your questions in the comment box below or if you are seeing this on my Facebook page you can leave your questions in the comments on Facebook. Thank you so much for being part of this community I love and appreciate you
I ask my community on social media to ask me questions for a Q and A on my podcast Encouragement Notes. The questions were.
How did you become disabled?
My Answer: I was born 11 weeks early, and I had a brain hemorrhage which caused me to develop hydrocephalus; and when I was one year old, I was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. I don’t often think of it as a disability. I believe that that the word disabled should be reserved for things that can not move, like a broken-down car, but not people
What are my favorite tv shows?
I loved Haves and Have Nots on the Own Network. I love Queen Sugar on the own network. I also love Chicago Med Chicago Fire and Chicago PD on Wednesday and The Good Doctor on Monday night.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path
And
Philippians 4 :13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength
2. What is your dream vacation?
New York City for a week or Three😊
3. After High School what decisions you lead you to where you are today?
I thought I knew what I wanted when I was 14 years old I stood in front of a crowd of people and told a story about something I needed to happen and that made me want to be a ” better teacher”, then my teachers. I spent 9 years in college getting a certificate to become a teacher’s aide and when it came down 2 actually doing good job I didn’t find as much joy as I thought I would. I also felt very disrespected bye some of my coworkers so in 20 16 I left the last school I was at.
4. How do I Stay so positive?
I try as much as possible to stay grounded in my face prayer is important in my life, and I also know that I have a group of friends that I can text with prayer requests throughout the week. I love my life group; I honestly need them to get through life.
5. How and why did I become interested in music?
I became interested in music at the age of 2 my favorite artist were Cindy Lauper, Janet Jackson, Debbie Gibson, Tiffany, and Gloria Estefan. I would do concerts in my bedroom, meaning I would sing as loud as I could and ask my parents if they can hear me. My first experience in the choir was at the age of 7 at church. I was in an ensemble called Joyful Noise until I was in 8th grade. I also have memories of auditioning for my Elementary School choir when I was 7. I was asked to sing Happy Birthday 2 a classmate. Lastly, my favorite memory of falling in love with music came when I was 12. My grandmother bought our family tickets juicy Jesus Christ Superstar at the Universal Amphitheater.
6. How did you start your podcast, and why?
I started my podcast because a mentor of mine said that people AR multi-tasking more nowadays than ever. They want to hear information and learn things, but they do not want to take the time to watch a video.
Encouragement Notes Podcast 