Molly's Zone

The challenge of self acceptance is one part of maturing that I feel everyone goes through in some form or fashion; as a person with cerebral palsy, I have braved this battle and have first hand experience with overcoming the "wanting to fit in" phase of the disability journey. I want to share what has pulled me through the hardest of times and to the state of mind that is accepting of myself. Sure, I continue to be faced with this struggle from within; I want my life to be a reflection of light and love. First of all, gaining wisdom from those around me has been crucial to my daily life of constant learning and evolving. My mother has never failed to provide me with helpful advice during the times when I least expected it; she always knows what to say. Friends from my present and my past have also served as teachers of lessons I needed to learn in order to be the person I am today. I have truly become a much better person from all of my experiences. Age is another aspec...

As a writer, some topics are not easy to approach; some ideas just seem to not want to come together as painlessly as you want them to. I have experienced A LOT  during my walk with the Lord; while I have had wonderful times, I've also faced many tumultuous times in the past that I find are still amazingly hard to put into words all these years later. A house fire is one of the most devastating moments of horror a family can go through; I experienced this first hand as a shy, soft spoken twelve year old and I never want to go through another one ever again. We lost pretty much everything we owned except the clothes we had on our backs. I will never forget that day as long as I live. A day so tragic, yet one that showed me my first true and personal testimonial instance of God's love and protection towards Mom and I. January 30, 2005 served as both the climax and turning point of seemingly endless dark days that plagued my life at the time; I had gotten saved the previou...

I have learned to love the fact that life constantly evolves; circumstances we thought were so terrible slowly begin to reveal their purpose in our lives in the most beautiful of ways. Experiences work to propel us forward and to strengthen our resolve. I love to think of life with cerebral palsy as a unique version of that same natural evolution of character and tenacity. We as people with disabilities develop and evolve into strong individuals as a result of aging. Now, I'm only twenty five so why would I write about aging with cerebral palsy? Well, it is this age that I have felt such a shift in how I view the world and those around me. I feel as though turning twenty six in a couple of months has begun to show through my newly discovered mindset. The purpose of me writing on this is to show younger people with disabilities is that there will be a time when you won't care what others think of you. You'll wake up and realize how dumb is was to try to "fit in" ...

I have learned to love the fact that life constantly evolves; circumstances we thought were so terrible slowly begin to reveal their purpose in our lives in the most beautiful of ways. Experiences work to propel us forward and to strengthen our resolve. I love to think of life with cerebral palsy as a unique version of that same natural evolution of character and tenacity. We as people with disabilities develop and evolve into strong individuals as a result of aging. Now, I'm only twenty five so why would I write about aging with cerebral palsy? Well, it is this age that I have felt such a shift in how I view the world and those around me. I feel as though turning twenty six in a couple of months has begun to show through my newly discovered mindset. The purpose of me writing on this is to show younger people with disabilities is that there will be a time when you won't care what others think of you. You'll wake up and realize how dumb is was to try to "fit in...

College life. A period of time that just about every teenager looks forward to. Life is overflowing with excitement, as your day to day life becomes something resembling a hot new teen drama television show filled with new friends, new classes, a routine littered with unfamiliarity. The descriptive word "child" that was used to describe yourself just three months prior suddenly becomes embarrassing as a new era of your life begins. You think you have life figured out. As a college graduate with a disability, I too look back and think "How crazy was I?" I dealt with some of the same types of newness that students without disabilities faced, just shone in a different light. Life taught me the greatest lesson: I am just like everyone else, and even though I was a legal adult, I did not know everything there was to know about life. And at almost twenty six years old, I still don't. I have learned a lot about what it means to be a responsible, sensible adult...

As a young woman with cerebral palsy, I have encountered numerous battles stemming from both the spoken and written word; in all of my life there has been some kind of inevitable challenge that always seems to be awaiting me from around the corner of wherever I may be. The shadows of my past casting a slight shadow over all of my potential. Every crevice of my existence. You see, this is the kind of attitude that hit me like a hollow point bullet post college graduation, working it's way through me and severing my confidence while simultaneously throwing me into a downward spiral that made me feel as though I had no purpose, no place in the world, and nothing of any value to offer to anyone. The attitude of which I speak is one you CANNOT have and you can't let your mind control your energy. I grew as a child with so much negativity surrounding me. People spoke hurtful words to my face without even realizing the pain they'd caused; perhaps they did notice and just didn...

A new year has approached us bringing with it three hundred and sixty five opportunities to begin perhaps what has the potential to be a most beautiful transition; a season of change that involves taking risks and making leaps; one that could unlock even better versions of ourselves, still possessing the familiarity of things old and worn; those things of the past still solidly present as the foundation of us mixed in with untouched territory, new discoveries and possibilities, and the uncovering of a boldness so fierce that it not only encourages and inspires others, but also ignites a fiery passion that enables them to make a positive change that is needed in the world. I have been deep in thought over "Molly's Zone" for the past several weeks, not quite knowing which direction to take it going into the new year. I am happy to announce that I have finally in all of heart, soul and mind made my decision.  I absolutely love where the Lord continues to lead me and throu...