Hi everyone! This is Hope, and I wanted to share with you that I started a YouTube channel to be able to share some of the things that are important to me. Last semester, I made a video called, "Disabilities 101," and as part of an action plan for my Social Studies class, I would like to share it with you. It took my mom and I two months to make this video with a LOT of takes and retakes as I really struggle to remember and speak my lines in front of a camera. You get to see the final "polished" product . . . well, as polished as my mom is able to do, according to her! You would probably laugh with us to hear about some of the video bloopers, such as when my standing pole fell over on me when I was trying to do a transfer . . . don't worry, no one was seriously injured in the making of this video . . . well, unless you count the wall . . . it has a nasty gouge in it now! I did choose to leave in some of the bloopers of our cute little doggie, named Connor, just because who doesn't want to see a cute little fur ball! I'll tell you more about him later in another post.
So, back to my Disabilities 101 video. My life changed drastically about 8 years ago and has never been the same since. I've had to learn so many new things and different ways of doing things as a severely disabled person. And, the people around me have also needed to learn how best to help me, to engage with me, and to love me through a lot of really hard circumstances. I'm so thankful for the people that God placed in my life to walk through this journey together and learn from each other . . . nurses, doctors, therapists, friends, teachers, educational assistants, church family, my dear family, prayer warriors like you, and even strangers at times, but most of all my Saviour who has been with me through it all!
I think that people with disabilities are often lonely, isolated, and excluded for a variety of reasons that are often just practical because we can't do what many typical people do. I think sometimes people don't talk to or hang out with disabled people because they don't know how to. I can't imagine going through what I have gone through without Jesus and the many people who have loved and supported me through it. I realize that not everyone has that and that is heartbreaking. So, I wanted to make a video that helps people learn a bit more about what disabilities are, what a day with disabilities might look like, and how you can engage with disabled people more effectively and meaningfully. Have you heard the song, "Dream Small" by Josh Wilson? It's one of my favorites and it has a line in the second verse that says, "dancing on a Friday with a friend with special needs, these simple moments change the world."
I really hope you enjoy my video and can take something helpful away from it so that God can use you to be a light and blessing to someone who lives with disabilities. They need to know that Jesus loves them and you can be the one to show them His love and that they are special and loved just the way they are! And through that, you can change the world and how great would that be!
Signing off for now,
Hope
Link to YouTube Video:
(you will need to copy and paste this link to get there)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyJbffflsAI
