I am an adult and I am navigating my daily life with cerebral palsy. As you may have known my life story, I cannot speak or walk on my own because of my cerebral palsy. (If you missed my life story, you should read “ My Story: Living With Cerebral Palsy, Part I: Birth and Childhood ” blog post) Also, I cannot feed myself, dress myself, and drive whereas I can walk with assistance, stand independently, and transfer to any seating positions. I use my iPad to talk to you every day. I occasionally use an alphabetical chart to communicate. I also use a wheelchair. I use leg braces that enable me to move and coordinate my legs actively.  Those supports are always necessary to help me live a healthy and active life and maintain my independence.  I am very independent but I require 24/7 care that meets my personal and compassionate needs. I am right-handed. I can easily hold objects with one hand. I can use my fully functional body to perform physical activities such as exercising, po...

I started falling in love with fashion when I was a little girl. I thought fashion would be my biggest dream and passion. From a little girl to a young beautiful woman, I would wear everything I want especially, pink which is my favorite color. I feel pretty obsessed with that color pink. Many grown-up girls wear everything pink. There are a lot of reasons why girls love pink. For instance, they behave like Barbie, pretend to be a girly-girl or a princess, and look beautiful as much as I do. Nobody can stop loving PINK ! As a little girl, I wore cute and adorable clothes including dresses, gym shoes, and Mary Jane shoes. I started wearing leg braces when I was a toddler because I needed the support due to my cerebral palsy. These leg braces can fit my comfortable shoes. I had short hair (my short hair looked like a tomboy lol). My hair started growing to be a medium length when I was around 13 years old. (In fact, I don't like short hair anymore because it's too tomboyish and t...

I am currently living in the best of both worlds- Greater Cincinnati and South Florida. I was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. I have been living with my parents for 28 years of my life. We have two wonderful family houses. My parents are in their late 60s and they have been taking care of me. Friendly and compassionate caregivers typically assist me with my personal care needs and outings when my parents need so much break from caring for me. Some of these caregivers are my friends. One day, I would become a homeowner with 24/7 care. I am totally capable of living independently.  I started living in South Florida for up to 6 months a year at the end of year 2021 (I was 25), (The law says I am a legal resident of Ohio and I can live in Florida for up to 6 months a year. Florida residents must live in the state for more than 6 months each year). Therefore, my parents bought their second family house in the region. They told me about their plan to live in Florida during the winte...

I just wanted to write a reflection on my first month of 2025 (January). January was pretty good but sometimes it was hard for me. I guess I will share some highlights of January with all of you. I started that month with posting my re-introduction reel on social media. As the new year approaches, I am striving to succeed in my career and I will continue advocating for my own rights. This is my crucial goal because I want to educate more people on how disabled people can live and work like everyone else.  There was shifty weather coming in South Florida and Greater Cincinnati during that month because of polar vortex. I was in South Florida all month. The region got 12 chilly/cool days - high temperatures of late 50's to 60’s and low temperatures of late 40’s to early 50’s. Greater Cincinnati obtained over a feet of snow. How crazy and insane I saw the weather! I felt like I don’t want to go back to my hometown, lol. 😂  My maternal cousin, Karen and her mom were coming down h...

I was born prematurely on September 12, 1996. That day, as being 32 weeks pregnant,  my mama underwent an emergency c-section because she had miserable pains in her bump after admitting to the hospital two days before. I FINALLY made it @ 11:54 am! I weighed 5 lbs 5 oz. Shortly after my birth, I suffered from a traumatic stroke as a result of my diagnosis of cerebral palsy which leaves me unable to speak on my own. Me as a newborn baby girl.  Me as a newborn baby girl with my daddy  Me as a newborn baby girl with my mama  Me as a newborn baby girl Cerebral Palsy is a neurological disorder caused by brain damage which affects my ability to move, walk, and speak. The disorder also affects muscle coordination and balance. There’s no known cure for CP. However, people with cerebral palsy will need a wide range of medical care, therapies (physical therapy, occupational therapy, and/or speech therapy), mobility aids such as walking aids and wheelchairs, and/or assistive te...