Ah, how this month has gone by so fast! The first day of the month I made my move up to beautiful Utah! Now, as I sit and write this on the last day of the month I have already gotten mostly acclimated to UVU, and my classes are still going well! I have met some new people! My blog so far has been doing well! Monday posts have continued, and I even became an ambassador for a tea company I buy tea from called Teami! Plus, about a week ago, I also joined the Student Alumni Association here on campus! So many new and exciting things are going on, and I cannot help but feel proud of myself, as well as, very fortunate to live the life I do! If you guys could, let me know in the comments on here, or on Facebook, Instagram, or even just shoot me a text if you have my number, and let me know if you guys would like month wrap-up posts like this! I did not think to do this until yesterday!
On a slightly different note. One thing I would really like to utilize this blog for is raising awareness to things I feel are important, as well as, educating others on types of differences that exist. Now, in this context when I use the term differences I am talking about disorders, and health type things. Since I did my internship with the national ability center roughly 2 1/2 years ago, they encourage anyone who works or volunteers there to use the term "differences" and not "disorder(s)". They do this to make it a little less debilitating in a way for anyone who may have a difference. As someone who personally has differences myself, I know how debilitating it can make you feel when you hear the term "disability" versus "difference". It is certainly not a good feeling when you hear someone explain a difference you have as a "disability", because when described that way it can cause a person or people as a whole to feel like they cannot do things others can do. So it is just better to say difference because it is an all-inclusive term that is also less harsh than that of "disability". I just wanted to give a brief explanation on that terminology really quick.
Each month contains either specific days or the whole month itself raises awareness for specific things. Obviously, there are a lot of types of differences that exist, but for now, I want to cover some of the things that are assigned to each month. I want to do this in hopes that I can help contribute to raising awareness, and educating others on these things so people can understand them.
For the month of January, it raises awareness for the following things: National birth defects month, January 4 World Braille day, January 20th International Day of Acceptance, January 24th Moebius Syndrome Awareness Day. National Birth Defects month is to raise awareness for anyone who is born with any type of birth defect. It represents an effort to raise awareness of birth defects, their causes, and their impact! Due to the fact, not all birth defects can be prevented. Some examples of birth defects would be, cleft lip/palate, club foot, or even spina bifida just to name a few. World Braille day is Louis Braille's birthday, and he is the person who invented the braille reading/writing system for those who are blind! He himself was also blind. International Day of Acceptance is dedicated to the social acceptance of disability and to honor the late Annie Hopkins, founder of 3E Love and creator of the International Symbol of Acceptance! Moebius Syndrome Awareness day represents an annual event celebrated globally each year on January 24th, which is the birth date of Professor Paul Julius Moebius, the doctor who first diagnosed the condition in 1888. Moebius Syndrom is a rare neurological condition that primarily affects the muscles that control facial expression and eye movement. The signs and symptoms of this condition are present from birth. Weakness or paralysis of the facial muscles is one of the most common features of Moebius syndrome. This concludes our awareness based part for January!
I will end this here! Thank you so much for all of you guys support this far! It truly means a lot to me, that I am fortunate to have such a supportive circle around me! Also, just a quick note: I mentioned further above I have become an ambassador with a tea company by the name of Teami. I have been drinking their teas since last fall, and really like them! If any of you are interested in checking them out, their website is teamiblends.com and if you choose to buy something of theirs when you use the code inspiring20 you can get 10% off of your order! Hope all of you have an awesome Friday tomorrow! See you guys again on February 3rd!
Best Regards,
The Inspiring Hummingbird!