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Can you feel it coming?

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Something’s waking up inside.

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Hearts ablaze, we’re standing
tall breaking chains of yesterday.

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Dead America finds it’s voice,
in the darkness, we make choice.

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Truth and healing lead

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the way, hearts ablaze,
we’re here to stay.

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Rise from ashes, come what may,
we’re finding hope in disarray.

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Today, we’re speaking
with Michelle Steiner.

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She is a paraeducator, she has a
bachelor’s in community programming,

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and her website, michellesmission.com.

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Michelle, could you please introduce
yourself and let people know a

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little more about you, please?

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Sure, I’d be happy to.

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Uh, as you said, my name
is Michelle Steiner.

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I live in Pennsylvania with my husband
Ron, and our two cats, Jack and Sparrow.

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I am a writer, a speaker, a photographer,
and a paraeducator, and I also

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have a learning disability as well.

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So let’s start with
paraeducator for people.

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Some people might not understand
what we’re talking about there.

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Could you please identify what
that means for the people?

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Sure.

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A paraeducator is a teacher’s aide.

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So what I do is I work in the classroom
to help students that are struggling,

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I also help to assist the teacher.

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Sometimes it’s crowd control.

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I always love to say that with my,
my disability, I can help the kids

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with anything except for math.

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And they all will find that out
very, um, shortly or they, yep.

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Well, I’m the same way.

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I, I don’t like math much myself.

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Uh, a lot of people are like that, you
know, you really need that mindset for it.

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So, as you were growing up, a
lot of individuals told you you

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can’t do what you’ve achieved.

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I, I, myself, have been told
that a lot in my life, and it

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stunted my growth in many ways.

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How did that affect you, Michelle?

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It was really difficult for me, especially
during those, uh, those young years.

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I can remember I had a learning
support teacher who told me that I

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would not be able to go to college.

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And I knew that I wanted to go to college,
that was something I wanted to do.

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But I wasn’t naive with the fact
that it was going to be a challenge

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for me with having that, but she
didn’t think I could handle that.

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And she suggested that
I attend a trade school.

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And when I look back on some of the
programs, not only did they, A, not

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interest me, but some of that stuff would
be harder with having my disability.

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I mean, I don’t think anyone would want
me to cut or style somebody’s hair.

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I’m not able to drive, so I
couldn’t do the protective

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services that she suggested, and I
really didn’t feel called to, uh,

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be a health assistant or work in culinary.

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Uh, most of those things would’ve been
really difficult with having that.

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So I decided that I’m going
to, uh, head on to college.

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And right before, I, uh, I found a
program at community college that

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was an early childhood program.

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And I got, I had to get tested for
having a learning disability all over

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again to receive the accommodations I
was going to need and support services.

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And I’ve never been a great test
taker all throughout my years of

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school, it’s just not my forte either.

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And the psychiatrist who evaluated
me said, Well, with your scores,

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you’re most likely not gonna
go beyond community college.

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I get to community college
and there’s even more stigma.

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If I, uh, disability accommodations
were considered cheating.

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And I can remember asking for even
a calculator and people would say,

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Well, oh no, we use our brains,
not calculators in this class.

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And people thought I was getting the
answers if I had a test read aloud to me.

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And I also had a professor who
told me that I was going to have

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really limited job choices someday.

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She found out I wasn’t great at math
and said, Okay, if the kids are doing an

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art project, you’re not gonna know how
much paper to give out to the students.

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And, well, that may be true,
that’s something I struggle with.

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I’ve found strategies to be able
to help myself when I do that.

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And I also met people that said,
Well, I don’t think you’re gonna

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be able to, uh, get married.

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People,

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someone might not want you
because you have a disability.

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And that was true, there were a
lot of people who told me that

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they didn’t wanna have someone,
uh, a partner that was disabled.

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And, and I can remember my ex breaking up
with me saying that, I’m, um, I, I know

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that you could drive if you really wanted
to, and I’m tired of taking you places.

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But despite all of those things,
I was able to go to college.

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I was able to get my bachelor’s degree.

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I had to be really careful about, uh,
the, the classes that I took, that

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they didn’t involve a lot of math,
didn’t involve a lot of science,

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and that I used the accommodations.

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And I did end up meeting a great guy.

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I met my husband unexpectedly, and he’s
wonderful with a lot of having that,

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with having the disability and, uh,
giving me rides to where I need to go.

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And I, I have found the job that I
love, working with kids in a school.

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But that also was something that didn’t
quite always turn out the way I wanted

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even after I graduated from university.

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It, it took me a while to find that
job that was disability friendly ’cause

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a lot of places claimed that they
were and they were anything but that.

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Yeah.

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You know, that’s very interesting.

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How, how prevalent do you think this
is in our education system where people

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are kind of shrugged off, if you will?

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Right.

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I think a lot of that, um, is the
people have a lot of misconceptions on

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learning, what learning disabilities are.

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Uh, what one of the misconceptions
a lot of people don’t understand is

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they think, oh, that must be, you
must have some kind of rare disorder.

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And that’s, um, not true.

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It’s one in five people
have a learning disability.

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And a lot of times though, how a
lot of education places are going is

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they don’t have some of the learning
support classes I did as a kid.

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It’s, we put them in a basic class
and we tell them, well, you can

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do anything you put your mind to.

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And for some of our kids, while that’s
great, we want our kids to be hard

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workers, we want our children to go out
and reach for the, you know, reach for

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the stars in everything that they do.

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But for some of those people like me, I
can try as much as I would want to, I, but

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I can’t get math or I can’t drive a car.

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So it’s so hard I think sometimes when
we try to put people into a box and we

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start telling them, oh, it’s in your head,
you can do anything that you wanna do.

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And, and there’s just gonna be
some things that may not happen

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the way that you expect it.

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Yeah, I agree with that a lot.

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You know, and

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as a person that became disabled after an
able-bodied life, it, it, it really is a

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shocker when you have to step into this
world and the treatment that you receive,

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and it’s really a struggle in itself.

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So, you know, there’s, there’s
got to be a better way to educate

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people where they are in life.

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And I think our system really
obliterates a lot of the things that

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true disabled people might actually
need to help them achieve, and it’s

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like they don’t wanna take the time
to handle the struggle, if you will.

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What’s your experience with that?

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I definitely think that a lot of
times people don’t know what to do.

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I, I know when kids are in school, we
always wanna get them on grade level.

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We always want to get them
to be able to pass that test.

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And for some of our kids that
may not be, it may not come in

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the package that they expect.

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They, their best may not be
the expectations that, that the

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staff has and it may not be the
expectations the parents have.

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But sometimes, uh, a kid really
is trying and it just, it’s just

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not working out because we have a
system that doesn’t work for them.

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And when people are adults when they
have a disability, whether that’s

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something that they live with, such
as that I did, or something that’s

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acquired that happened with you, I, I
found that the system is not customized

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to what the, the person really needs.

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It’s like they want this
cookie cutter approach.

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For example, I can remember
right after community college,

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I wanted to, uh, find a job.

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And I can remember we found an agency
that helped people with disabilities,

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uh, to be able to get jobs.

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And that’s what the, the
place was like, um, in theory.

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But in reality I found it, they
catered more to people with high

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support needs that had intellectual
disabilities, not learning disabilities.

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And I was already working temp jobs
and I can remember going in there

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when I had an appointment that was
taking me away from working that day

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and I would sit there with one of the,
the counselors and, uh, one of them

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had me circle jobs in the newspaper.

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And I thought, I, I can do this at home.

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And I can remember they were,
they would ask, I would tell ’em,

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Oh, I have a job interview for
maybe a more permanent place.

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And they said, Oh, do you
want us to go with you?

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And I’m thinking, No.

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I’m Capable of going to the
job interview by myself.

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And I wondered what was going on, uh,
why was I given all these menial tasks?

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And then they had an event where everybody
gathered for like a career day, and I

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saw a lot of the other people that they
served and mostly a lot of them worked

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retail jobs and some of them had Down
syndrome and they had other disabilities.

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And it, it dawned on me that this is
the reason why they were doing all

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that programming that was supporting
them, which obviously that is,

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things that are definitely needed,
but it didn’t really meet my needs.

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And even my mom said, You’re,
you’re doing a lot more better

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on your own with finding jobs.

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And I just think that sometimes
that’s a lot of the issues I find,

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um, a lot of times we have this box
that we wanna put a, a person with

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a disability in as an employee.

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We think, Okay.

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Maybe you can stock shelves, maybe
you can, uh, clean up at fast food,

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maybe those are the jobs that, that
a person with a disability can do.

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And for some people that might be
what they, uh, are able to do or it’s

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something that they, they wanna do.

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But for other people, I think that
there are jobs out there and it’s, uh,

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about trying to find those positions
and breaking a lot of the barriers

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that society likes to put on people.

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Yeah, I agree with that a lot.

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And in, in a program like that, they
really need to start serving the

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aspiration of the client because
it’s, it’s about the client.

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And the funds are set
there for that reasoning.

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So I, I myself have went through these
work incentive networks and whatnot.

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I’ve been told, I don’t have time for
this, and I’ve been told, you know, We, we

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don’t really ever get people where they’re
a hundred percent, uh, employable anymore.

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And these statements to the client is
devastating and it sets us back so far,

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just, and, and it’s like they don’t give
the thought who they’re speaking with.

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And it’s like they’re in a, in a
lunchroom with everybody else that,

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you know, just has the ability to
go all out in their employment.

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Not everyone’s like that and
so I understand, uh, a lot

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that you’ve been through.

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How does it feel to know that you do have
that spot in society that you enjoy doing?

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I am very grateful for
the job that I do have.

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I have been with my current employer
for fifteen years, and I am, I

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am just very grateful for that.

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And I also understand though, too,
that I do have that privilege that

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I can walk into a job interview and
people don’t know I have a disability.

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But the trick with that is I have the
choice whether I’m going to disclose or

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I’m not, but it’s a double-edged sword.

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I can get at the job and people don’t
understand, well, why can’t you do math?

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And that’s really hard to tell
people that because people look at

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me and they, they presume confidence.

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And I have to advocate for
myself again and again and

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that sometimes is really hard.

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And sometimes I might be in a
situation where, in, in a classroom,

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where they might want me to help
with math and I can’t do it.

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So I have to just politely advocate
for myself saying, I can’t do that.

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Or even with the kids and say, I’m really
sorry, I can’t help you with the math.

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And it’s hard.

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It, it’s masking a lot of those
feelings sometimes, but I, I know

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that I can get through it and
it’s just one of those things.

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Sometimes we have to do that and
that, that, that can be difficult.

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But there’s also, then I have to remember
to myself, we have, uh, uh, not everybody

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with a disability is, has a job.

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We have such a high rate of
people that are not employed with

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a disability, I’ve been able to
overcome that, that, those numbers.

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I overcame the odds of going to
college, there’s only ten percent of

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disability, people with disabilities
go to college and actually finish that.

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So in a lot of ways that is definitely
something that I, I really feel,

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um, I’m humbled and I, I find a
purpose though with, when I, with

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the students I work with, because
a lot of them have disabilities.

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So I think sometimes coming out and
saying that maybe there’s some things

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that I struggle with, that, that shows
them it’s okay to struggle with things.

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It’s okay not to know all the
answers, but we’re gonna work with

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this to be able to figure that out.

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I think that that’s an inclusive and
inviting world that you offer when you do

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that, and that’s, that’s really what we
need most of all right now in our society.

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So there’s all sorts of struggles
out there, and if we recognize

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we’re all in this ship together
and we all face something.

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You know, even though we don’t wanna admit
it, we’re all disabled with something.

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And I’ve recognized that through
podcasting and speaking with people and

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presenting myself, with my authentic self
and expressing myself without the hurt

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and the shame involved in that expression.

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It took me a long time to be able to
do that because of the frustration

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I felt with this disability.

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So do you ever struggle with
these frustrations and how

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does that make you feel?

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00:16:34,290 –> 00:16:34,890
Definitely.

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I have definitely struggled a lot with
the frustrations, with people telling

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me that I, I couldn’t do something.

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And I also struggled on that other camp
where people tell me that I should be

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able to do anything and it’s in my head.

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So I think that can be a struggle.

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00:16:49,440 –> 00:16:54,635
Uh, sometimes it, it’s, just maybe a
struggle, like I, I’m also diagnosed

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00:16:54,635 –> 00:16:59,375
with limited hand dexterity, so
sometimes maybe opening up, um, jars

245
00:16:59,375 –> 00:17:01,115
might be a struggle or opening up doors.

246
00:17:01,115 –> 00:17:06,694
Those things can really be hard for me
to do sometimes, and it, it can be easy

247
00:17:06,694 –> 00:17:10,264
to sit there and think to yourself,
Okay, why am I in this situation?

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00:17:10,865 –> 00:17:15,705
But sometimes what I look at is I
always get an answer though if I ask.

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I can remember I was in a classroom and
there was, uh, they were asking me to

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00:17:19,845 –> 00:17:22,845
help out with math and I couldn’t do it.

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And I just remember looking to the
heavens and wondering why am I here?

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Uh, you know, this is
what I’m struggling with.

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And somebody told me that a child was
crying and I went over and I had that

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00:17:34,520 –> 00:17:40,280
chance to be able to get on eye level
with him, and I said, I know how hard

255
00:17:40,280 –> 00:17:45,230
it is with math and I can’t help you
with it, but I, I’m able, I want you

256
00:17:45,230 –> 00:17:48,975
to tell me when you’re struggling so we
can get you the resources that you need.

257
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And that was something.

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00:17:51,929 –> 00:17:54,750
And that child, before I knew
it, he was raising his hand.

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He didn’t, uh, he wasn’t
afraid to ask for help.

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And I think that, that I can see
the purpose, I can see the why.

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And I think sometimes when we can
see our why and we know what our, the

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00:18:04,830 –> 00:18:10,080
purpose behind it is, then that gives
us that hope, that gives us that reason

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that we wanna go on to be able to help.

264
00:18:12,389 –> 00:18:15,929
And I think that’s one of the, um,
another thing that really helps me

265
00:18:16,480 –> 00:18:20,740
is I get that chance to have a blog
where I can write about how I’m feeling

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and writing has given me that voice.

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And photography is another
way that I’ve really turned a

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00:18:27,040 –> 00:18:28,720
lot of that pain into purpose.

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I, I can’t drive because of my
disability, and when I don’t have a

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ride, I get the chance, I have to walk.

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And on my walks I get to see all these
beautiful flowers and I have to think to

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myself, I can notice details that other
people will miss because I’m not driving.

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And people say I bring out the
details of a flower and I get that

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chance to stop and smell the roses.

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And I, and I just think, if I was
driving a car, what are, all the details

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that I would miss and all that beauty
that I get to capture in my life.

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00:19:03,960 –> 00:19:06,060
Well, yeah, there’s, there’s a lot to it.

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And you save a lot also from not
driving and you help the environment

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00:19:12,899 –> 00:19:14,580
there, there’s a lot to that.

280
00:19:15,570 –> 00:19:24,120
So, so Michelle, you have a website,
Michelle’s Mission, What is your mission?

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00:19:24,720 –> 00:19:28,470
My mission is to encourage,
empower, and educate people

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00:19:28,470 –> 00:19:30,030
with and without disabilities.

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00:19:30,510 –> 00:19:35,190
I have, I write a lot about my life
with having a disability, and I love

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to be able to compare that to nature
because that’s a big part of my life.

285
00:19:39,180 –> 00:19:42,900
And I might talk about the process
of a flower that’s, um, blooming and

286
00:19:42,900 –> 00:19:46,900
that’s the process of me accepting my
disability, or the transformation of

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00:19:46,900 –> 00:19:50,860
a butterfly, that’s another thing that
I, I have a passion for, and all those

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00:19:50,860 –> 00:19:55,540
different stages that a butterfly has
gone through and the, and I have as well.

289
00:19:56,290 –> 00:20:00,700
And I also, my, I wanna be able
to educate people with and without

290
00:20:00,700 –> 00:20:05,340
that, so I try to make information
that is easy to understand.

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00:20:05,700 –> 00:20:09,264
But doesn’t talk down to people, so
somebody with a disability can read

292
00:20:09,264 –> 00:20:11,215
it and think, oh, that’s my story.

293
00:20:11,215 –> 00:20:16,014
Or I know someone like that, or, I,
that’s how I think or, that’s how I feel.

294
00:20:16,014 –> 00:20:17,875
And I, I thought I was the only one.

295
00:20:18,504 –> 00:20:22,524
And I also like it, to educate maybe
somebody that doesn’t have that

296
00:20:22,524 –> 00:20:26,034
so a parent can maybe understand
what their child’s going through.

297
00:20:26,824 –> 00:20:29,915
It can also be something, maybe
a loved one can also understand

298
00:20:29,915 –> 00:20:31,804
that with somebody or a teacher.

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00:20:32,195 –> 00:20:36,455
I just wanna be able to, and I,
and I encourage people too, I wanna

300
00:20:36,455 –> 00:20:40,145
encourage people with and without
disabilities to follow their dreams

301
00:20:40,655 –> 00:20:44,435
and to empower them because we all have
things that we’re, we struggle with.

302
00:20:44,465 –> 00:20:46,639
But we also have things
that we are good at as well.

303
00:20:48,015 –> 00:20:50,145
Yes, that’s, that’s so true.

304
00:20:50,355 –> 00:20:55,845
We all have a gift and sometimes
it is so hard to find, Michelle.

305
00:20:56,145 –> 00:21:04,455
So if, if you were in front of a
struggling child that didn’t know how

306
00:21:04,485 –> 00:21:11,969
to reach out for help, what advice would
you give that child seeking advice?

307
00:21:12,810 –> 00:21:16,260
A lot of times what I have to do
with my students is, I will tell them

308
00:21:16,620 –> 00:21:20,340
if they don’t know something, you
need to ask your teacher for help.

309
00:21:20,639 –> 00:21:22,620
And sometimes they’re afraid,
they’re like, I don’t wanna go

310
00:21:22,620 –> 00:21:24,419
up there, uh, and ask for help.

311
00:21:24,419 –> 00:21:29,219
I had a, a student that was absent
today, uh, she was absent for a few

312
00:21:29,219 –> 00:21:34,004
days and she could not do the work
that was in front of her with, with

313
00:21:34,004 –> 00:21:35,715
the assignment, with the information.

314
00:21:35,715 –> 00:21:37,935
So I said, You really need
to go up and ask for help.

315
00:21:37,935 –> 00:21:43,215
And, uh, this time she didn’t go up
and ask, but I went up and I told the

316
00:21:43,215 –> 00:21:45,254
teacher and he came over and helped her.

317
00:21:45,254 –> 00:21:50,064
But a lot of times I will go up
to my, my students, when they

318
00:21:50,084 –> 00:21:52,215
come up to me, I’ll say, you need
to go ask your teacher for help.

319
00:21:52,695 –> 00:21:56,475
And I’ll go with them, but I
want them to use their words.

320
00:21:56,475 –> 00:21:59,835
Eventually they gotta use their
words to say, I don’t understand.

321
00:21:59,955 –> 00:22:02,025
I need help, can you please help me?

322
00:22:02,775 –> 00:22:07,425
And once we, we show them how
to do that, it’s, it’s just

323
00:22:07,425 –> 00:22:08,625
such a game changer for them.

324
00:22:08,625 –> 00:22:10,995
They, they know that
they can ask for support.

325
00:22:11,445 –> 00:22:15,375
And I just think with my students,
um, someday they’re gonna leave

326
00:22:15,375 –> 00:22:18,870
me, for so many of them, their
disability is going to stay and

327
00:22:18,870 –> 00:22:20,550
they need to know how to manage it.

328
00:22:20,550 –> 00:22:24,270
And they need to know how to ask for
support and to advocate for themselves.

329
00:22:24,960 –> 00:22:26,010
Yeah, that’s right.

330
00:22:26,310 –> 00:22:31,650
You know, the, life is
a cornucopia of events.

331
00:22:31,710 –> 00:22:35,910
You, you just don’t know what’s
in your basket until you live it,

332
00:22:36,390 –> 00:22:39,270
so the struggle is always real.

333
00:22:40,860 –> 00:22:49,260
How, how did you feel when you were
in college and you had to get up

334
00:22:49,260 –> 00:22:56,820
in front of people because you had
to give, you know, your talks and

335
00:22:56,820 –> 00:23:00,270
present, how did that make you feel?

336
00:23:01,590 –> 00:23:05,100
I have always been great with getting
up in front of people and speaking.

337
00:23:05,100 –> 00:23:08,534
I, yeah, speech class was easy for me.

338
00:23:08,805 –> 00:23:13,695
I think a lot of that credit was, uh, when
I was growing up being part of the church.

339
00:23:13,754 –> 00:23:17,235
Uh, we, our class, would have to,
sometimes I would do some scripture

340
00:23:17,235 –> 00:23:20,325
readings so I got, I got used to
getting up in front of people.

341
00:23:20,655 –> 00:23:24,595
I, I do great with, with doing
that, I always felt comfortable.

342
00:23:24,595 –> 00:23:27,445
I can remember when I first
took a speech class, uh, some

343
00:23:27,445 –> 00:23:30,715
people warned me, oh, he’s, this
professor’s a really hard grader.

344
00:23:31,195 –> 00:23:34,660
And then I got an A, I mean,
on my speech, and it just, the,

345
00:23:34,705 –> 00:23:36,085
the percentage just went up.

346
00:23:36,085 –> 00:23:39,205
So I never had a really a problem
with getting up and speaking

347
00:23:39,835 –> 00:23:42,745
and presenting that, that was
really never an issue for me.

348
00:23:42,745 –> 00:23:47,215
And I was even in a couple plays,
uh, and I, I love doing that.

349
00:23:47,575 –> 00:23:51,440
My real issue that, that happens
is anything, if you give me a

350
00:23:51,440 –> 00:23:53,210
math problem, I can’t do it.

351
00:23:53,210 –> 00:23:56,060
Science is not my subject either.

352
00:23:56,690 –> 00:24:01,460
And it’s really difficult for me if you
put a test in front of me in classes, that

353
00:24:01,460 –> 00:24:03,350
was probably one of the hardest things.

354
00:24:03,740 –> 00:24:07,250
I can remember, people
would say, well, why?

355
00:24:07,535 –> 00:24:08,795
This class is easy.

356
00:24:08,795 –> 00:24:12,365
All you have to do is a midterm,
a final, and a couple quizzes, and

357
00:24:12,365 –> 00:24:14,085
maybe a paper or two, blah, blah.

358
00:24:14,195 –> 00:24:15,215
You don’t have to do any work.

359
00:24:15,215 –> 00:24:22,175
And I’m thinking it’s more work for me
to do that than it is to write a paper,

360
00:24:22,415 –> 00:24:25,355
uh, do a presentation, or a project.

361
00:24:26,475 –> 00:24:32,655
So, so communication is really
a strong point in your life.

362
00:24:33,314 –> 00:24:39,915
Do you think that helped you through
your disability, uh, pitfalls, uh,

363
00:24:39,945 –> 00:24:42,524
because of your communication skill?

364
00:24:44,420 –> 00:24:47,475
I think that has helped
me a lot, uh, in that way.

365
00:24:47,475 –> 00:24:48,885
I didn’t start out like that though.

366
00:24:48,885 –> 00:24:51,945
In high school I did not wanna
talk about having a disability,

367
00:24:51,945 –> 00:24:53,535
I just wanted to run from it.

368
00:24:54,555 –> 00:24:58,965
But it’s whenever I had that encouragement
where people were telling me, you should

369
00:24:58,965 –> 00:25:02,510
write about having a learning disability,
you should go and speak on having one.

370
00:25:03,419 –> 00:25:07,320
And I honestly think to myself,
once I got that, I got that

371
00:25:07,320 –> 00:25:09,360
courage up to just do that.

372
00:25:09,659 –> 00:25:13,950
That’s when a lot of that healing
happened, that is when I stopped being

373
00:25:13,950 –> 00:25:17,280
ashamed of having the disability,
and I was all right with that.

374
00:25:17,280 –> 00:25:20,340
I came to that acceptance, that
and getting my bachelor’s degree.

375
00:25:20,340 –> 00:25:24,360
But definitely the communication
helped because if I don’t speak up

376
00:25:24,360 –> 00:25:26,669
for myself, nobody knows what I need.

377
00:25:26,909 –> 00:25:32,175
Nobody, uh, can read my mind, um,
and, and be able to know that.

378
00:25:32,175 –> 00:25:36,165
So it’s really important for me to
have those communication skills.

379
00:25:36,254 –> 00:25:39,074
And it was hard to advocate at first.

380
00:25:39,074 –> 00:25:42,524
I can remember my parents did a lot
of that for me when I was younger.

381
00:25:42,854 –> 00:25:46,074
And my mom, I remember there was a
phone call where she was explaining

382
00:25:46,074 –> 00:25:48,465
to somebody that I had a disability
and they were fine with it.

383
00:25:48,465 –> 00:25:50,945
And I thought, Oh, I really
wish I could do that.

384
00:25:51,185 –> 00:25:56,254
Well, when I became an adult and I moved
out on my own, that’s my job to do that.

385
00:25:56,284 –> 00:26:03,465
And I was not always great at advocacy,
I started out and I, I made a lot of

386
00:26:03,465 –> 00:26:08,554
mistakes with that and it took me a
while to really learn how to be an

387
00:26:08,554 –> 00:26:10,445
effective self-advocate for myself.

388
00:26:11,945 –> 00:26:12,395
Yeah.

389
00:26:12,485 –> 00:26:19,800
I, I think it’s very important to
get that self-worth, that value.

390
00:26:20,070 –> 00:26:23,430
You know, we, we all
have something to give.

391
00:26:23,610 –> 00:26:28,110
And if we find that, we
find our value in society.

392
00:26:28,440 –> 00:26:35,730
So it’s, it’s a really good thing
to speak up for yourself and when,

393
00:26:36,300 –> 00:26:38,760
when possible, speak up for others.

394
00:26:39,930 –> 00:26:46,470
Because I think that’s very important, uh,
because that will help build and encourage

395
00:26:46,560 –> 00:26:52,800
other people if they see that they have
that advocate stepping up for them.

396
00:26:53,940 –> 00:26:54,360
Right.

397
00:26:54,450 –> 00:26:55,500
Yeah, exactly.

398
00:26:55,500 –> 00:26:59,399
I think that that’s something I
model, I try to model with my students

399
00:26:59,399 –> 00:27:01,350
too, because they’re learning.

400
00:27:01,620 –> 00:27:06,265
I may not be teaching them how to do
a math problem but they’re learning

401
00:27:06,355 –> 00:27:07,765
how to speak up for themselves.

402
00:27:07,765 –> 00:27:12,205
They’re learning that sometimes you
got to say, I can’t do something.

403
00:27:12,295 –> 00:27:14,425
They’re learning how to
express those limits.

404
00:27:14,845 –> 00:27:22,075
And so many of my, I was really lucky to
have parents who, uh, just really educated

405
00:27:22,075 –> 00:27:23,755
me on having a disability as well.

406
00:27:23,755 –> 00:27:27,865
And I talked to so many kids, uh, I
work with seventh graders who don’t

407
00:27:27,865 –> 00:27:32,530
know what an IEP is, they don’t
know about their own disability.

408
00:27:32,890 –> 00:27:37,750
And I just think that sometimes
there has to be that education where

409
00:27:37,750 –> 00:27:42,430
kids know, this is the disability I
have, this is how it impacts my life.

410
00:27:42,730 –> 00:27:48,310
I don’t wanna let it stop me from being
a success, but I have to also understand

411
00:27:48,640 –> 00:27:52,540
that these are the things that I’m
going to, um, struggle with and I’m

412
00:27:52,540 –> 00:27:53,710
gonna have to deal with in my life.

413
00:27:55,270 –> 00:27:56,090
Yeah, that’s huge.

414
00:27:56,090 –> 00:27:59,250
You know, recognizing our pitfalls.

415
00:27:59,250 –> 00:28:02,850
We, we can progress a lot easier.

416
00:28:03,720 –> 00:28:09,075
So, Michelle, uh, what do you
have in store for yourself

417
00:28:10,365 –> 00:28:12,405
during the rest of your life?

418
00:28:12,405 –> 00:28:16,635
What, are you just wanting to be
a paraeducator the rest of your

419
00:28:16,635 –> 00:28:22,455
life, or do you have aspirations
to be an entrepreneurial spirit

420
00:28:22,514 –> 00:28:24,794
and become something for yourself?

421
00:28:26,010 –> 00:28:26,879
I would like to do both.

422
00:28:26,879 –> 00:28:30,270
I would still love to work in
the school, um, but I would

423
00:28:30,270 –> 00:28:32,250
also love to increase my blog.

424
00:28:32,310 –> 00:28:33,510
That’s definitely something.

425
00:28:33,540 –> 00:28:38,460
I would definitely love to sell more
photography and hopefully to write a

426
00:28:38,460 –> 00:28:45,120
book about my life experience someday,
and to, to just be able to find a way

427
00:28:45,120 –> 00:28:50,430
to be, also just to keep on helping
other people and doing what I’m doing.

428
00:28:52,410 –> 00:28:54,270
Yeah, that, that’s so cool.

429
00:28:54,570 –> 00:28:59,670
So do you have anything else you would
like to add to our conversation today?

430
00:29:00,540 –> 00:29:03,570
I would just like to say that, uh,
Success doesn’t always come in the

431
00:29:03,570 –> 00:29:06,810
package that we expect, but sometimes
it comes in something even better.

432
00:29:08,325 –> 00:29:09,555
I like that a lot.

433
00:29:09,855 –> 00:29:13,005
You know, that’s, that’s
words of wisdom right there.

434
00:29:13,455 –> 00:29:19,995
And sometimes that takes patience and
if, if we’re patient, it, it happens.

435
00:29:20,385 –> 00:29:22,305
Just, just give yourself time.

436
00:29:22,875 –> 00:29:28,605
Michelle, I have enjoyed our
discussion today and I wanna say

437
00:29:28,605 –> 00:29:30,525
thank you for joining us here today.

438
00:29:30,525 –> 00:29:34,755
Could you tell people how to
reach out, get involved with you

439
00:29:34,755 –> 00:29:38,490
and how they can work with you?

440
00:29:40,560 –> 00:29:40,919
Sure.

441
00:29:40,919 –> 00:29:45,780
You can find me and my blog,
www.michellesmission.com, and

442
00:29:45,780 –> 00:29:49,560
you can also find me on Facebook,
uh, and Instagram as well.

443
00:29:50,610 –> 00:29:51,360
All right.

444
00:29:51,750 –> 00:29:55,590
Thank you for being here,
Michelle, and it, it’s been

445
00:29:55,590 –> 00:29:57,419
a pleasure speaking with you.

446
00:29:58,199 –> 00:29:59,459
Thank you so much.

447
00:30:06,899 –> 00:30:14,535
They drew their lines and made their
call, said I’d be the one to fall.

448
00:30:14,925 –> 00:30:22,665
But something burning in my chest,
whispered failures not my rest.

449
00:30:23,025 –> 00:30:30,400
Every doubt became my fuel,
every, no, became my school.

450
00:30:30,879 –> 00:30:40,219
I’m standing where they said I’d never
be, living out what they couldn’t see.

451
00:30:41,929 –> 00:30:48,020
They said I couldn’t, but I did,
broke through the ceiling, opened it.

452
00:30:48,469 –> 00:30:53,840
Invisible battles, visible
wins, this is where my story

453
00:30:55,899 –> 00:30:56,929
begins.

454
00:30:56,929 –> 00:30:59,070
I let my truth to light the fear,

455
00:31:03,649 –> 00:31:05,480
teaching kids

456
00:31:08,649 –> 00:31:09,010
to fight,

457
00:31:11,669 –> 00:31:18,520
to persevere.

458
00:31:21,860 –> 00:31:33,720
Watch me turn the page and prove,
impossible is just a word to move.

459
00:31:33,960 –> 00:31:38,580
In every child I see the spark,
of someone leading in the dark.

460
00:31:38,580 –> 00:31:44,700
Their potential has no end, I’m
not just teacher, I’m best friend.

461
00:31:44,700 –> 00:31:58,220
Showing them their strengths
within, this is how we rise and win.

462
00:31:58,380 –> 00:32:02,720
We’re standing where they said we’d never
be, living out what they couldn’t see.

463
00:32:02,720 –> 00:32:03,722
They said I couldn’t, but I did,
broke through the ceiling, opened it.

464
00:32:03,722 –> 00:32:05,980
Invisible battles, visible wins,
this is where my story begins.

465
00:32:05,980 –> 00:32:11,580
I let my truth to light the fear,

466
00:32:16,680 –> 00:32:27,130
teaching kids to fight, to persevere.

467
00:32:27,200 –> 00:32:29,230
Watch me turn

468
00:32:31,400 –> 00:32:32,220
the

469
00:32:35,710 –> 00:32:39,510
page and prove,

470
00:32:44,150 –> 00:32:48,950
impossible is just a word to move.

471
00:32:48,950 –> 00:32:51,990
I can fight, I can voice, you were
made for more, it’s your choice.

472
00:32:51,990 –> 00:32:52,654
I can fight, I can voice, make
the world stop, make some noise.

473
00:32:52,654 –> 00:32:55,229
They said I couldn’t, but I did,
broke through the ceiling, opened it.

474
00:32:56,619 –> 00:32:57,979
Invisible

475
00:33:28,109 –> 00:33:38,979
battles, visible wins, this
is where my story begins.

476
00:33:39,009 –> 00:33:44,329
I let my truth to light the fear,
teaching kids to fight, to persevere.

477
00:33:44,329 –> 00:33:45,509
Watch me turn the page and
prove, impossible is just a

478
00:33:45,509 –> 00:33:46,721
word, impossible is just a word,
impossible is just a word to move.

479
00:33:46,721 –> 00:33:46,832
Just a word to move.

480
00:33:46,832 –> 00:33:46,944
Just a word to move.