Many Ways of Doing Art!

Many people think of doing art as painting a picture on a canvas with a paintbrush in hand or molding a sculpture out of clay. But what about people with disabilities who don't have the dexterity in their hands to hold a brush and create a mural? Can they be considered artists? Yes they can!!! In fact, on January 26, 2013, I went to the festival of human ability at the Aquarium in Long Beach, California, and I saw a man named Tommy Hollenstein paint with the wheels of his wheelchair! It's amazingly inspiring to see a wheelchair create something beautiful. The festival of human ability is a really cool event to go to overall because you get to see the creativity of people with disabilities through wheelchair art, wheelchair dance, and a signing choir.  Throughout my life, I've also seen artists with disabilities who use mouth pieces to do art and even a man with Cerebral Palsy by the name of Gille Legacy who uses his nose as his vehicle for his artistic masterpieces.  I believe that being an artist is not about ability, but about the person's intense desire to express himself or herself in a creative way!!!

Hardest thing about being disabled

So I left off by telling people to get involved in politics but then I didn't even write a post about the 2012 election. Sorry but I'm a crazy busy college student! Oh well, the man who is the best advocate for human rights won the race.

Anyway, today I'm talking about something much more near to my heart.  It's something much harder than dealing with the stares that come from students on the college campus or trying to fight against the stigma of people with disabilities. On August 10, 2012, my aide of 2 years, Brittany, left to go back to school.  Having to say goodbye to an aide who's your best friend and who you do everything with is the hardest thing ever about being disabled for me.  I almost had to go on a twelve step program to get over it but THANK GOD! it didn't take twelve steps. It only took 4! First, I went through that horrible period of anticipating Brittany walking into my house like she did everyday, and then getting disappointed when it wasn't her anymore. Next, I went through a few months of numb loneliness and sadness.  Then, feeling tired of feeling sorry for myself, I tried to explore more of my own hobbies and tried to evolve my life! Now, Brittany and I still hang out together sometimes but I have come to accept that we have different life paths.  This is hard, not easy, but I've realized that the only true way to be happy is to find something I love to do for myself!  Hope this helps someone out there!