Advocacy comes to me naturally. My parents were the first advocates that I knew. When I was fifteen my parents adopted my brother who was born prematurely to parents that were mentally incapacitated. They abused drugs and did not take care of themselves in regards to their mental and physical health. Within the first few years we began to see a difference in my brother that did not seem typical behavior. He began to stare into the air as if he was daydreaming and when he would get excited he would jump up and down with his hands by his head. I know that may seem overdramatic but for a sixteen year old girl it caused so many emotions that I was not able to express.
I learned very quickly how to
advocate for others. My parents had to
fight for medical care for him that the military was not necessarily willing to
assist with. (My father was a US
Marine) My brother attended Head Start
and went through school like he was a typical kid but had struggles with
ability to take on classes that you and I would not have a problem with. He is a typical 20 year old kid now that
still struggles with a few things but overall is living a good life.
From the moment I saw my parents
in action, I knew what was important in life.
Every human being deserves to live a life of no worries. No matter what type of disability, economic
status, educational background, we all deserve a fair chance in society. I began my advocacy with my family supporting
my brother. I wanted to always be
involved in the lives of children from then on.
As an administrator of a large military child development center I have
taken those first experiences with my family and used some of those with my
everyday interactions and my career. I
have a lot more to learn to become even better at what I am good at. If that even makes sense. I love assisting others. My biggest joy in life would be to see my own
children to love others-strangers as much as I love them. I already see it in my daughter.
Crissy, I concur –we must have a love for advocacy. Being an effective advocate means having a passion driven from within. As you discuss your experiences, it is obvious your love for the profession. Good luck in both the present and future opportunities to advocate.
ReplyDeleteWow what a wonderful example your parents have set for you! That's great that they were advocates for your brother. I am sure that it meant a lot to him as well. You are clearly "a chip off the old block"!
ReplyDeleteDanielle
Crissy, thanks for sharing. This is so powerful. Making a difference in the lives of others through advocacy goes a long way. It's interesting to see how your parents advocacy has encouraged you to become an advocate. We all need one another.
ReplyDelete