Able to go to College - Episode 17 : Shoulder Hiker

 On this episode  my bio class takes  a fieldtrip.  Its a great  trip  that is a lot of fun.   Unfotunatly   I ran soo fast that I fell in the 100  meter dash.  You  might remeber  me mentioning it here.   That was not my  finest moment.  The  important thing is that  I   got up and  kept on running.


      On the hike  I  was kinda nervous but  once I commited myslef to  going on the trip  I  did fine.   Just like  in college.   If  I am   ready to do something I  will do  a great job.



 The    final  episode will be  posted   tomorrow.  You do not want to miss it

Able to go to College - Episode 16: Party time

      There are only two more videos after this one !!!   The last one is  so special  you  do not want to  miss  it.



           So  now  its   part time at  DSPS.  I  know  I have said this a thousand  time  over but   this campus  has a  great disabilities  program.  They  have a whole team of people that  work  hard  to make sure that  I, along with any other students  who have  disabilities succeed.    They have audiobooks  computer programs and  more all with the purpose of helping  students succeed.   There program is  so  good.   They  took me in with all my behavior problems  and    improved my self esteem   Actually going to this college really improved my  self esteem.  I was able to make  Dean's List  and  graduated  with honors.    Not bad  for someone who  was terrified of  going to college.    I learned the  hard way that not all  university are supportive of students with disabilities, which  makes me  appreciate  this  college even more


 One  of the   best ways they  help people  with disabilities   this  is by  hosting  parties,  like the one you see  in the video.  I  remember attending  one of these  parties when  I  first started college  in  the fall of 2010.  Back then  I was  so scared about  attending university  but seeing other disabled students made me feel  less alone.


 This  school  has  been the most inclusive school  I have ever   attended

  Better  than

   pre school

  private elementary  school  (Pre -K -1st)

 public elementary school  (2ed -  5th grade)

  public  middle school     6th -8th grade

  Public  high school  (9th-12th) grade


  Its  my seconed  home.  Even though  I graduated  in  May  I always go   there to visit.   I love it  that  much.

Able to go to College - Episode 15 : Stage and No Sleep

       

   On this  Episode  I  get an award for receiving the  Echo  Smart Pen.  I   remember this day  it was a fun day  because I was being  recognized  for something good.  The  Smart  Pen  really  helps  me out in college.  Its a great  learning tool  for   students  with disabilities.

    Also  on this episode  I got no  sleep  because  I had to pull an all nighter   It was  well worth it though because  I  ended up getting  a hundred  percent on  the  bumble  bee  project.    Yeah   the bumble   bee  project  isn't  just about   looking for  honey  bees   we had  to  compile  a  report siting our findings.    This  teacher and I  are still  in contact.  He  gave  me a  great letter of recommendation 

Able to go to College - Episode 14 : Bus Basics

  So this weeks  episode is all about taking the bus.    One  of the hardest things about     leaving high school for me was a fear of  taking the bus.  I thought I was not ready to  take pubic transit and  I was not  too trilled about  taking   para transit.   I eventually  got on the bus  and  have not looked back  sense.  At this time  I do not drive so  taking the bus  is my token to independence when  my parents or siblings are not home.


  Speaking  about tokens

             Around here there are a lot of  different options for paying  a fair.     You can pay  two  dollars a  trip, in cash or  coins.  You can use  a  token, which  you can see  in the video, or you could  use  a card that  acts like a  credit card.  I use  tokens  to   take the bus,  they are quick and  easy or  when   I can not find them  I  use dollars.



  Thanks   Ms. Parks
 

Thanks  to  Rosa  Parks     I can  sit anywhere on the bus.    That is  true  but for some  reason  the bus's  disability  seats,  which  i  sometimes  sit in but not always,   are in the front.  The first day of university   I met a guy with Spina Bifida  on  the bus who  just happend to be  a  big  Nintendo  fan.   We have  been  pals  ever  since







 got  images  from


  Tokens
http://nationalticket.com/siteimages/Tokens.jpg


   Rosa  Parks
http://www.okaloosa.k12.fl.us/djj/Technologykp/Blackhistoryweb/BlackHistory/rosa.jpg

Able to go to college episode 12: Bee's Law

             I think its  pretty  funney   don't  you.  Anyway  guys  I am  on the last half   of  Able to go  to college  videos.    Check back  tomorrow for more videos.     Sorry  it has taken a long time  that was not my intention.  Tomorrow  is a  special  episode you do not want to miss.

Able to go to College Spring Break 2012

 That was a fun trip.  I have not seen  Coach  L   since then.   I hope   I  can  see  her soon.

Able to go to College : Episode Eleven : Health Fair

           



           


   So  I went to the  Animal Fair.   Ok  so not  really but  this week  their was a health fair at  my school,  it was  in  2012  I am still trying to catch up on  this web series.  These were   great events because you got to  get information  about health and  get prizes,  or in  this case  burritos one of my favorite foods .    I  enjoyed going to the health fair.


Come   Back  tomorrow  for  My  Spring Break   trip to San Diego 



   Preview it will  be slimy




 What does  that mean  you will have to come  back  on  Thursday to find out.

Able to go to College: Episode ten : The best way to go to school

     









Going to school with  my dog is the best way to go to school. I mean   Zoe is really cute   and  soft.  
  Anyway  about the smart  pen.

  The Smart Pen  is a  pen with a tiny recording device that allows people to tape record  what anyone is saying.  It is  a helpful tool for  people with  disabilities.     The best part is  if you do not  write everything down and  miss something you do not have to listen to  the whole thing over again.   The only drag  is    that  at this point  I could not  take the pen home because it  belong to the school.  To learn more about  the smart  pen  click  here.

Able to go to College - Episode Nine : Gummy Sweat Shirts

      This week  my team got sweatshirts.   There is only one other team with sweat shirts in the whole  league.      I  have spent  years  watching my sisters playing sports for their  schools  and  I wanted a turn  so a few weeks ago I  had  ask  Coach  J about  the sweat shirts  and we  got them.    I remember coming home  from school Tuesday night and  finding it there on the banister.         I  was so  excited.  Seeing something that I dreamed of come  to life is  priceless.       Dreams can come true. This week  I also chewed  gum  for the first time while doing the bee lab  report. Gum  chewing  is really hard because of CP. So that was  huge.

No one would have predicted : three years later

  I had  the worst start to college.  I  felt that I did not belong there.  I  was severely depressed. My  first semester  I missed  two to three weeks of school. I wanted nothing to do with college I wanted to go back to high school.  I was afraid of the world, which  sounds   bad, but its true.  I did not want to go up  I thought I would not be able to succeed.

   I  do not blame myself because I  had  been brainwashed into thinking I was not college material. I knew  I was smart  and could comprehend, yet my teachers in high school  did not see potential in me  and I had no  friends who could relate to going to college with significant disabilities.  All  the kids my age with with disabilities were  in the Adult transition program.  I did not qualify for the program, yet junior year  the schools workability  school representative   told my mom that I  should find a job at Safeway.  I was hurt.  So you see  how scared I was  to leave  high school.

 Too make matters worse  due to my terrible monstrous behavior,  most teachers in high school did not allow me to contact them. I  have tried to befriend so many  of my former teachers who have befriended other students , yet most ignore me  including my special education teacher.  I think they did not want to hear  my tdradigies that were going to happend or so they thought,


    I  finally got the college thing down and I made the dean's list. I  developed close bonds with professors and staff.  My behavior improved a ton to the point where  teachers LIKE me.  I have asked them if they are sure that they are not confusing me with Princess,  yeah  I know  she is not at the same school. 


 Just today this  conversation took place between  Professor D and  me,

 AZ: Thanks for tolerating me this semester

 ProfD: No  problem its been my pleasure,

AZ: What? 

 a student: Its been his pleasure.


ProfD:  Keep in touch I  will fallow your blog.


 For ProfD: Thanks for  being supper nice to me and helping me out. I hope  we keep in touch if you  do not mind. I may be visiting  in the fall.  Your words mean a lot to me and show me how far I have come. Thanks for  leading  me to believe that I am a decent person. I love  comments on the blog btw

  


 Now  do not get me wrong I  still have hard  behaviors  at home and in DSPS, yet I  am
  

learning  how to  deal with them in a mature mannor.   Part of it is habit. I have  to retrain my reactions which is not easy but  I am  going to be graduating  JC and Transferring  to University. Right now my Major is Liberal Studies but I am thinking of  switching it to English  with my end goal being a Special Education teacher. I am not  going  to a day program, I am not going  to a shelter workshop. I  am going to University.

  Too be honest I have been afraid  yet  I  feel like this time thing will be different. I  will stay  in contact with many professors at  the  JC and support Staff  at DSPS.  I hope  to  take  some more classes their if time permits   I  have grown and I am  ready.  Transition will be hard,yet their are two major thing that will be different. I have a ton of people who support me now and most importantly, I  believe in myself now. 

Able to go to College Episode Seven:Omi turns two

 Another  weekend edition of able to go to college.    This weekend was my cousin daughter's  second b day.  I had to miss basketball practice  to attend  but    I think the cuteness  made  missing hoops  worth  it.  Omi  is  very spoiled  girl  she is the youngest kid on my mom's  side of  the family, the youngest  used to be  princess, but  she    is a high school  senior in the video and has  since  went to college.  Ironically    Omi  loves  Princess  it  must be   because  she  used to be the youngest in the family.

 Princess, Omi and AZ at Omi's  second birthday

  Fun   fact  Omi's dad  is a  former  NBA  player.

Able to go to College episode six: Breakfast the most important meal of the day

 


 On this epsode   I   get  to have a tasty  pancake  at school.   One  of the perks  of college is  that there is  great food in a cafeteria.      College  has been  the first time  where  I have eaten in a cafeteria  at my  school.   At my school  we have tons  of  food  to chose from including a breakfast  and lunch .    You  could  get a burrito on  monday  and a  pizza  on tuesday its nice to  have verity  about what   you  eat.  Now  its  not the  best  food  but its  quick and  yummy.



  Just for  fun  some things that I  enjoyed eating via the  school cafeteria

1 Pancakes
2 Burritos
3   Cheese burger
4  Spegheatti  and  Meatballs
5   Sushi
6  Macaroni    and cheese  ( special)
 7 Personal Pizza
8  Turkey sandwich
9  banana nut  bread
10 Blueberry  muffin

Able to go to college episode five: Test Time

           So this was the first test  of the semester ( which is  ironic  considering   next week  is  my  first day  back)



 Anyway

  In  college  I am in   regular  classes( of course)  but because of my disability  I  get to take  my take in a special   place  called   DSPS.

 DSPS  is   a resource  for college students  with disabilities almost every college  has  one.    In my college  I  have  an accommodation form that I  give to the teachers that basically says that I   have a disability and   need  accommodations.  Accommodations  vary   from  person  to person but   for the most part  every student with  a disability will need extended time on test.       At my college extend time on test  comes   with double  time (   a  30 minute test = 1 hour)    or time and a half      does  anyone  know?    I think  I  have double  time. This does not mean that   I  have unlimited  time  cuz  i do not I just have more time to think about  the  test material.  And    there is no cheating allowed







 For this test  I t was on  the human  cell   which    was a hard test but  luckily  I had a study  group meeting at my house so  I studied well. I  got a  B.

 Do you  know the  parts of  our cells 

 images
 video  pic from goggle
 test http://www.bestmastersineducation.com/teaching-to-tests/standardized-tests.jpg
cell http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/cell1.gif

Able to go to college Episode Four: Cars and Hearts

   So this week  i will be blogging about   the  week of Valintes day  (2012).      I  really think that my  dog  knew it was  Valinties day because  when  I woke up this  morning I  found her  on my parents's bed looking as  cute as ever.  I had a  good day at school and to make things swet   one of my acquences  drove me home that dad.  He  was not dating   so  he  coined the  term  Single Awainess day  I like that (esp since  I have never had a boy friend)  My dad came home  that  day  and  found  a note   that said that   AZ had to unload the dish washer.  I had  seen this  note  but  I had "forgot" to  fallow though.     My  dad was  home  so  I  had to listen to the note  aw  well.  Luckily  I have a  great tip for doing the dishes which u can see in the video.

 So the  second  half  of  the video   highlights a  constant struggle  between  my parents and  me.  I want to  try driving.  Now  I  tried driving a little  my senior year, yet I was no where near ready.  Unforntaly my parents  do not think  I am  ready  so  for now  I am stuck to taking public  trasnit, bus. I hate the  bus.  The  main  reason  is that a bus  confines you to a se.    Taking the bus  means that   if you miss the bus you have to wait for the next one.  The bus   that  I take  runs  once every hour so  if I miss it  I  have to  miss at least ten minutes of class.  This was the case  in the second half of the video.   I am  only  20  so  I think  I have  still   have time to learn how to  be  behind the wheel.

Able to go to college episode three :Basketball- one of my favoite sports

   

            I know  what you are thinking  how  does this  relate to college   answer  it is   weekend edition.  You know all work and no play......... well I do not  know the rest  but   here it is.   My number is    number  11.  I  really love  playing in this  tourment.  In my area there are two gyms for basketball  but  one  practice  site  for all other sports  so  for me this  means that  I  played against all  my  friends    who are my team mates in  other sports  like  track  and soccer.  I  also  have  my  HMB   hoop buds  one of them  also  goes to my school.  In the fall  more  people from  my team  will go to  my college which will make  for an interesting time ( hint  not all  of them are my  friends)  

I  know second question  

  What's  that on your  arm?

    Thanks  I thought u  never ask.

 All the colors.   I have a white and black  one   I want the orange  one 

 The  white thing on my  arm  is  called a Sniffle  Buddy.  Now  some  people  with CP, me include ,  have the  tendency to   drool.    Now when  I was younger I  drooled a  lot   I mean  I  could have  filled a  cup with  salvia  from my mouth and   I am  not talking about  when I was a  baby i am  talking about    school aged.   Now that I am older   I  have  good  days, where  no   drool  comes  and  I have  bad days  when   drool    comes  out.  In  high school  I   began  to  spit on  people when  I  talked  but I did not drool   oh  the  wonders  of  CP.

  Now one  of  my pet peeves  is   seeing a school age kid   wearing  a  bib.  I  mean  hello  bib   are for babies   not  for  older kids.    I  do not care what kind  of bib you may get     it still  looks  babyish  and   it will make  fitting  in  with other kids  harder then  it  already  is. A great solution to this is to use a bandana  or  a  Sniffle  Buddy,

    A  sniffle  buddy      resembles a bracelet,   It is  made out of bamboo  and it works.  I love  my sniffle buddy  it helps me  control the drool also   if i  forget to  grab a napkin during it mealtimes   helps   me as  well.  Sniffle  Buddies also  are for allergies  and  sports which means that  it is not specifically designed  for  people with disabilities; however    it works.   It is also green because instead of  throwing  napkins away    you  just put it into the  wash so that is  what i am  wearing on my arm.

    

  

  On a different  note  today I  begin  summer school  so this  might be the last Able to  go to college  video  for a while.

Able to go to college Episode two : Top of the hill

  So  guys sorry   about the long wait but at  long  last I have a new Episode for you  guys.     This  episode  is an important  one because   it  shows  a myth that i had  about  college when I was a senior.  

 This is what I  thought   awaited me after high school  I was so wrong 

 High school was  tons  of fun  for me I  mean  we had  ralles  Senior  Activity Day  among other things.  At home  I had  video games and   tv and stuff to  keep  me entertained.

 One of   the big myths that I had  was that   once you  graduate high school  you  do not have any  fun.

 Oh  how  wrong  I was.

  Two  year later I  know that  is  not the case.  As  you can  see  there was  rock climbing on the  college campus  for a day.   Last fall I  went  on the  rock  wall  but   on that day I did not go on the rock wall. As far as videogames  go I  still  play them   like  I did  in high school.   Although  I must admit I do not have as much time to play because in college,  I am  in  a general education  program,  I have tons of homework and  stuff to do.     Its  only the  third  week  of school  and I am  having this much fun   who knows  what  fun awaits  me the  rest of the semester.

 




 No  fun sign
  http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/123328/123328,1222362071,1/stock-photo-smiley-having-no-fun-sign-17923828.jpg

Able to Go to college Episode one : AZ's new backpack

 

  So  this  is the  first episode of Able to go to college.    The video says week  two  because I did not film the  first week of school :(.   Now  on with the post.    



                Now these days  there are a lot of different  types of backpacks.  Some  are  rolling  while   some are a shoulder bag Some   ladies  carry there stuff in a  purse.  For me  I need a backpack  because  due to  NLD  I am  vary  disorganized  in  fact some people have   called  me. 

A Tornado

  And  people  have also  called  my backpack a  

A BLACK HOLE

                                                                       

   the  day I got my  orange  backpack summer 2010 

         Since I  am  hard on my stuff  my  back packs do not last  long.    I  got the  orange  backpack   summer 2010.    I  took  it with  me to   my summer school  program  for students  with  disabilities.  I   also took  it  when i started regular college  classes, but    Fall 2011  it began to show  me  signs that  it needed to go into  retirement.  The  front  two  zippers did not  work  anymore  and there were  holes in it.    The  orange  back pack  was  with me   as  I entered college  but     now    I needed a  new one .



   So earlier in the week  my  dad and I   went on a mad backpack hunt.   We went all over    but   no such  luck  because I am   picky .     I   went looking  at my book store in my college.  I  found  two  backpacks of the same modal  but  different colors.  I  ended up  picking the blue one.     I got on  the bus thinking that   I was   going  home .but   I  got on the wrong  bus.    The bus went  near by    my old   school so I  was not worried.  I  called my dad  because  he was    home  but the plumber was   at our  house  so  he sent Princess  and she came to  get me.

Got  images from

    Tornado

http://dir.coolclips.com/Nature/Natural_Disaster/Tornadoes/cartoon_tornado_CoolClips_natu0206.jpg

  Black hole

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/.a/6a00d8341bf7f753ef0168e55ba4a3970c-800wi

 Captions were  done with help from Carolyn Fiory

Able to go to college introduction

             So    when I graduated  from high school  two years ago I was soo scared of what lay ahead. I  saw   my future as a abyss  and  I did everything in my power to  stay in high school.   What ended  up  happening was I  burnt a lot  of  bridges.  I had a  Flip  video    Senior year and  seeing the videos  today I am  ashamed of how I acted.      I see  both  sides  now  and do not blame anybody in  high school for   not    contacting me.

   I have been  taking  videos   of  my life as a college student. I learned in high school that you can   not film in class   so   most of the videos  I have  to date of  our   me  talking about college  life.    I am  taking college classes  and last semester, for the first time in a long time,  I have    gotten  mostly A's. I am    pulling out my camera  again, I  phone this time, but this time   taking a  weekly  video  about college  life.  My greatest hope is that  a high school student, especially those with CP NLD OCD or  other developmental disability can  see that     college is not scary and it is  doable   thus  they will  leave   high school  willing  making the  transition easier then  I  did .  Here  is a preview.