BIG GOAL

Hi guys,
Sorry for not blogging for a long time. I hope everybody have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!
This is a blog when I want to open up my self to you. My all family and friends are a big part of my life. From my childhood until now I saw my sisters and I always look up to them.  I had my own life to live and I always wanted to give a big thank to my parents for not seeing me as someone who has a disability. They see me like a normal person. I have a mind of my own and what I am is because of them. They never stopped me of living my life. 
 Four years ago when I had a stroke. After that I lost my independence and I never get it back. Now I feel like I am getting back my whole self. If this happened to you, how would you react? It had a big impact on my life and I felt like I lost myself, but today I feel like I am back on track. 
I am swimming two times a week for three hours because I am going to swim across the Kelowna Lake in BC in July 18, 2020. This is a big goal that I have after my stroke. I always pick big goals. Me and my best friend thought about it couple of years ago; we wanted to do it together, and then we forgot about it. In April this year, I got back in the water to build my strength and I told my worker that I want to do the swim across the lake. So, I signed up for it. Starting now, I have 212 days, 15 hours and 8 minutes to get ready for the big event. For me it means that I get back to my own self. 
Last week I was Athlete of the Week at CTV News. They came and filmed me, my worker and my roommate during my swimming time. It was the first time in my life when somebody told me that I am a great athlete, but I don't feel like one. I am just trying to achieve my goal. 
I want to thank to my whole family and all my friends and my worker for always being there for me and behind me. 

Here is the link of the interview at CTV News.
 https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1854714&binId=1.1201975&playlistPageNum=1#_gus&_gucid=&_gup=Facebook&_gsc=4sQ2YlP

What I am doing in the next couple of months

Good day,

I hope everybody is having a good summer. I am enjoying it for sure. I try to be more active and to be more involved in the community. Being part of the Calgary Transit Access Eligibility Appeal Board gives me the opportunity to advocate for the people with disabilities in the city, but I have the feeling that I have to do more. Next month I will apply to be part of the Advisory Committee on Accessibility, because I want to be an ambassador for the accessibility community and City of Calgary, trying to improve the quality of people's lives. 

The next step is to make a movie for the Superfest International Disability Film Festival in California. It will be a short movie, 45 minutes long. The festival has awards and prizes like Disable Filmmaker Award, Advocacy Award and Access Award. I will send my movie to the Advocacy Award where they will choose the film with the most powerful message for disability justice. The movie will highlight the successes and struggles of people with disability, relying on my life experience and story. 

What I'm working at

Hi everybody,

How's it going? It is a long time since I write anything. I been busy with going to the Disability Film festival and my two films were in there. 
Now I am on the Calgary Transit Access Eligibility Appeal Board, where I try to advocate for people with disabilities. 
Also, I started a new project. I want to be a speaker for TED. That's why I made a short video for them about my life using the app that I create with a great team from the U of C. If you want to get a look at it go to Youtube, using this link: https://youtu.be/34SJdxGs6Hk

Have a nice day,
Shawna