Living at home after returning from college has changed me for the better. I graduated in May, and it has been all about discovering and learning what makes me outside of school. School has been my personality since the beginning. But who is Olivia?
I am learning and discovering who I am as an individual, a woman, and an individual with a disability. I am learning how to combine those three identities while learning about myself- what I like to do, what I don’t like, what my hobbies are, what my personal goals are, etc. It’s been a journey of road bumps along the way, and I am still not 100% where I want to be, but I am proud of where I have gotten and how far I have come. Along the way, I have found support and advocacy groups, started to embrace my disability even more, went with the flow a little bit more, and, most importantly, did lots and lots of reading!
We all come out of college with these high expectations for ourselves. I know I did, but I didn’t have any expectations of what my life would be like living with a disability at home. Luckily, I could connect, network, and meet people who could understand and support me in ways I never imagined. I have been more involved with the Muscular Dystrophy Association in the last few months and became a part of the Young Rare Representatives, Disability EmpowHer Network, Boundless Babe Society, and a staff writer for Cripple Media. I never had time in college to do these things, but now that I have the time, I can 100% do these things and put my heart and soul into the things I am passionate about.