Crunch Time

 Virtual Self Advocacy Conference (Two Weeks)

I'm probably a little anxious for this conference to take place in two weeks and cannot wait to hopefully keep learning about how to become a good self advocate in the disability community. I also have some other responsibilities that I have mentioned on here before and look forward to sharing more of what I know will help people want to make a difference in their neighborhood. We also have some amazingly legitimate guest speakers who will be joining us as well and educating self advocates on the conference, about ways they can speak up for what they need in this world. 

I really do hope things with this conference are going to run smoothly and people can get as much out of it as they can possible. I know it has helped me so much getting to really pay attention to what is being said-- not just because I think it would benefit me down the road, but something to look back on so I can learn what other solutions are out there. Being a part of the many committees that I am giving my time to help out on with this has been a dream come true!!! I may not know as much as I'd like to, but there is only so much left in me to keep learning from throughout this new journey. Only time will tell between now and this next week of how things are going to unfold... Please stay tuned!!

Shout Out

Tylee,

Happy Birthday!! Thank you so much for being who you are in this world and continue to do for the IL World. I am grateful for your example of persevering through the hard times in life and never caring of what others may think about you. You have never ceased to amaze me with the ability to see the good in every situation life hands in your lap and even though we've had our difficulties--it brings me comfort to know there is someone who believes in me to recognize what potential I have. Thank you so much for all the times you have continuously put up with me and given me advice in how I need to move forward with whatever happens next in my life. Hope you have the most amazingly legitimate and wonderful birthday celebrating you!!! #April25th #PerfectBirthday 

Self Advocacy Journey (Mini Version)

My unforgettable and treacherous journey of making it onto two governor appointed councils was quite a process for me that I didn't necessarily anticipate whatsoever. It took me awhile to even reach the spot of where I am right now and not knowing if I wanted to be a part of two separate councils with some of the absolute best of the best people ever... kind of made me feel slightly intimidated. I didn't even know if someone like myself qualified to participate on something where I would have to meet fairly if not ya know a high pedestal of expectations. I'm certainly not gonna make a complete fool of myself here at all and yet I cannot imagine the process it took me to reach this point--which if you ask me was at times an absolute rollercoaster of mixed emotions with anxiety not making stuff any much easier. I truly hope so much that I can leave a very deep imprint of the hearts of people I will come in association with over the course of my terms of service. It has been a very good experience for me to learn some of the many lessons that come along with being on these councils and getting an inside scoop of how much passion, dedicated time, energy, long hours of sitting through endless online meetings, among lots of other stuff- so many of those remarkable people do on a consistent basis. I am grateful for not only what they do on an annual basis with their jobs in these governor appointed councils--but for who they are in my life not to mention in the lives of so many self advocates with disabilities. I am grateful for their patience and if not more importantly one of them for genuinely putting up with me, despite all of the struggles I've had in the last year due to the health epidemic and not knowing where I want to be at in my life yet. 

Untitled Post

 Scooter,

I am truly grateful for your legacy of unconditional love and the kindness you showed me throughout your fourteen and a half years of life is something I hold close to my heart. You never failed to put a smile onto my face whenever I needed it at any given moment and reminding me of what it means to accept people for who they are. It's difficult for me to wrap my head around the idea of knowing you left this world six years ago yesterday and never knowing when I will see you again crushed me in a million pieces. I'm so grateful for the knowledge that I have of this restored gospel of Jesus Christ and knowing when we hug each other in heaven-- I know everything on earth happened for a specific reason. I am grateful for your snuggles that you and I shared with each other on the couch every once in awhile, but also knowing that you were always there to greet me after I would walk into the door from being somewhere. You are truly one of the best little dogs ever and I cannot wait for the day to see you again!!! 

Virtual Preview

This disability conference takes place in three weeks and can't even believe how quickly time has flown by. I am grateful for the opportunity of learning more about the heartfelt topic of self advocacy on various levels in the disability community-- which if you ask me is something I am very passionate about. It is an absolute wonderful experience to wait and see how this conference turns out-- I really hope everyone who is participating on the conference itself will learn so much about how to better advocate for themselves in the community. I am thrilled to be doing a mini activity session with a friend of mine about the purposes with volunteering and giving of your time to make a difference (as well as being a part of something that can be so much bigger than yourself.) 

There will be at least from what I've heard is a solid number of people who will be on with us and since I am going to be out of town for the event itself-- I am still going to make an effort and listen in on how all of the things we planned will unfold. I am excited to learn from the many speakers we have reached out to in sharing their messages about easier ways to improve on our self advocacy skills and learning some new ways to make an impact in the disability world. 

I am grateful for the many people who have supported me through so much and continue making an impact in the lives of young adults with disabilities everyday. I know my life would not be clearly as much as it is without such amazing individuals that are so remarkable at what they do and I am truly blessed to work alongside the best of the best!!! This self advocacy conference itself will most if not definitely be one for the record books and cannot wait to see it all unfold in front of my eyes through my computer screen. Please stay tuned for more updates and stories to come down the road!!! :) 

Ninja Surprise

I was elected as the new secretary of my Youth Leadership Committee, I create the meeting agendas for our meetings every other month. I have picked out adorable images to use in making the stuff we discuss look a little bit more fun and less boring if you know what I mean?! I'd kept this legitimate secret from a friend of mine for some time and indicated I would not send them off the agenda until ten minutes before our meeting started. I was nervous about whether or not it would come off a little strange or awkward in some way...but I knew in my heart it was going to bring the warmest smile to their face!!! Leading up to the meeting earlier today, I didn't know if it was right of me to keep this a secret for as long as I did--but somehow it was the only chance for me to get the opportunity of surprising them.


I immediately sent off the agenda for our YLC Meeting and mentioned to this individual--they were not allowed to open up the email until I had shown up on the Zoom Call itself. Within about five minutes-- I was on the Zoom Call and instantly heard them say this: "I love it!!!" I had not even seen their face quite yet until seconds the both of us were able to share that moment together--which if you ask me was more than a dream come true!! It was such a heartwarming moment for me to spend a little extra virtual time with them and once more people joined the meeting itself-(I'll get back to that in a second.) My colleague mentioned to me a very specific kind of bunny that they have in their home and I believe it was called a Holland Lop.

They mentioned how they are pretty chill bunnies and will I guess occasionally chew on things, if I can even recall their exact words--but I will make certain to double check with them soon. (Back to what I'd tried getting across before earlier in this blog post--- It was such a heartfelt moment for me and my colleague, whose name I will not mention right now out of respect for them--but I just genuinely loved the expression that I saw come across their face with almost tearing up!! I didn't necessarily expect to see that from them with an absolute unexpected surprise like this one, but I felt like it was the perfect moment for me to give them some extra unconditional love. More about this later... (Stay tuned for the final part of this post coming your way tomorrow at some point!!!) 

Weekend Vibes

 LAST FRIDAY--- My twin sister and I watched a livestream Easter special with our favorite singer David Archuleta on a website called Stage It. I definitely loved being able to take a break from the craziness and noise in the world, to just feel uplifted about what the message of Easter really is. I loved every minute of being able to watch him sing from the heart and share his experiences about how he wants to be closer to God in his life everyday. I am grateful for the power that music can have in our lives and especially when the focus is on being closer to my Savior, Jesus Christ. I know he has guided and directed my life in those directions it needs to be headed towards, whether it is what I need at the time or not. I am truly blessed for having the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life everyday and reminding me of what I can do to improve with areas of my life that I can strive in focusing more on Him. 

General Conference (Short Version)

This was very much needed escape for me to feel the spirit of my Heavenly Father and learning about how to increase my faith in ways I never considered before. I always love being able to learn from our church leaders every six months about putting the Savior in my life before anything else and knowing that I can always put in an extra effort to do better. It is definitely heartwarming to be reminded about what's truly important once in awhile and recognizing where we can make improvements...because we all have our own shortcomings in life, but through the help of our Savior we can persevere through anything. 

Other Highlights:

- I was very much inspired by the messages we heard this weekend and knowing there is always a better way to solving personal life struggles than just easily assuming we can handle it by ourselves. I was just blown away with the announcement of twenty new temples to be built throughout the world and seeing the lord hastening his work is remarkable!!!