Hi Everybody,
Last week, I went to the SUFU Roundup in Brewer. The Roundup topic was learning about local government, and figuring out where to go and who to talk to if we have problems that government could help us solve. Something occurred to me while I was there: In order to be a strong self-advocate, you have to like yourself.
What does that mean? Well, I think it can mean different things to different people. Generally, though, do you think you are a good person? Do you feel like you deserve to be happy? A lot of people, whether they have disabilities or not, answer “no,” to those questions.
A self-advocate who doesn’t like himself or herself is most likely too angry or sad to be a good self-advocate.
I’ll be honest with you, I’ve struggled for many years with liking myself, but I’m getting much better.
Living with a disability can be really hard, sometimes. When you don’t look, or talk, or act, like a lot of other people, sometimes you can get sad or depressed, I know I have.
However, my disability is a part of who I am and it’s helped me become the person I am, so that’s a good thing! 🙂
If we are self-advocates who like ourselves, it’s a lot easier to work on problems that affect people in our communities, because we care about ourselves, first, and that’s really important!
Has anyone else ever felt this way?
Until Next Time,
Avery
