Permission to share

We live in a world where everything is a commodity, including the stories we tell. 
I dream of a world when we won’t need permission to share from our own tongues. Where we don’t feel we need permission.
I dream of a world where we aren’t told unfamiliar tongues are a better fit for your words than your own. 
I want that for you. 
And I want that for me. 

I wanted to remind this community and beyond that there is power in our words, art, and stories. And you should be able to tell them in every way you choose to. 

I have been told since I was young I wasn’t good enough. I was indecipherable when I spoke. I was too fidgety the few times I did choose to speak. My voice was too flat. Too deep. Too Texan. The words I wrote on paper made no sense. “You might have something good there, but how about we see if your classmate can help you with it?” And by that, they meant, allow the classmate to take over the whole thing. Use my words as their own. Speak for me. 

I have worked so very hard to be where I am. And I will continue to work to be better. I worked to be clear in my thoughts and my messaging because I didn’t want the pain of someone telling me I wasn’t articulate enough with the creations of this mind. 

I didn’t want to mess up what I was advocating for. 

I didn’t want the hurt that came from “you aren’t good enough.” 

Disabled people are worthy. This community is full of creatives who pen marvelous stories, paint beautiful masterpieces, make us laugh, entertain us with their art, dress us with their fashions, feed us with their foods…

This culture is rich and vibrant. And like many other marginalized cultures, it is mined and shared by those who do not value its people. 

We face the silencing of our tongues in every form of media. They don’t trust us enough with our own stories, whether this is movies, television, or books. 

If you were to ask me if I was okay, I would tell you that I was not when I wrote this. But I am better now. I just wanted to tell disabled creatives to keep pushing through. And just because someone doesn’t see the worth in your share, doesn’t mean you aren’t worthy. I am fucking amazing. And in the future, I am leading with that. There will be days that push you to the edge of your limits, but there will be days that you soar. I haven’t even hit those days yet, but I know they are coming.