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Our Disabilities Do Not Define Us

Written by The 91桃色 | October 24, 2022

TRANSCRIPT

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Chelsea Bear is a content creator and disability advocate. She led a career as a publicist for eight years while sharing her experience living with cerebral palsy on social media.

Chelsea has always been a passionate advocate for disability representation and inclusion. In this episode of Motivational Mondays, she shares how she uses her platform to advocate for those with disabilities.

Why Chelsea Became a Disability Advocate

Growing up, Chelsea was involved in Student Government and always took on leadership roles. Through her involvement, she realized that she wanted to become a public speaker. 

After college, she landed in PR because she wanted a stable full-time job. She started to use social media as an outlet to share her story but when she found herself juggling two full-time jobs, she chose to go all in on content creation and advocacy.

Celebrating Authenticity and Embracing Yourself

Chelsea has been disabled since birth. If someone asked about her disability, she welcomed their questions, but she quickly realized that most people are uncomfortable asking. 

She started sharing her story on social media to break down stereotypes, including topics she wouldn鈥檛 normally talk about. It forced her to tap into who she is as a person, which helped her become a more authentic and empowered version of herself. 

Normalizing the Conversation Around Disabilities

A large part of Chelsea鈥檚 platform is cultivating awareness through education. People don鈥檛 know how to approach disability because it鈥檚 unfamiliar to them; they鈥檝e been taught to look away or avoid asking questions. 

That鈥檚 why parents must have conversations with their kids and shouldn鈥檛 shush them when they ask questions. Chelsea points out that we should focus on educating each other just like you would on any other topic. A disability doesn鈥檛 have to be scary because it鈥檚 part of life.

Inspiration vs Motivation

Stories about people with disabilities are told as if they鈥檙e overcoming something or doing something amazing by existing. Chelsea doesn鈥檛 want to just be an inspiration鈥攕he wants to create action. Motivation is about taking action, changing minds, and inspiring people to do something differently.

Listen to this episode to learn how Chelsea is advocating for herself and others using her platform on social media.

Listen to this episode to learn about...

  • [1:10] Why Chelsea became a disability advocate
  • [3:36] How Chelsea gained 315,000 Instagram followers
  • [5:13] Normalizing the conversation around disabilities
  • [8:02] Why disability representation on television is key
  • [10:47] The importance of advocating for yourself
  • [12:55] Why you shouldn鈥檛 let other people limit you
  • [15:50] The difference between inspiring and motivating
  • [18:18] Celebrating authenticity and embracing yourself

Listen to the bonus episode to hear Chelsea鈥檚 key message about disability advocacy and the importance of changing the conversation around disabilities.

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