Alexea's Adventure

I wanted to talk about mental health because my mental health hasn’t been the greatest recently and I have been doing my best to take it day by day. I feel like sharing about these thoughts and feelings because I want for others to know that they can share how they feel and even though it can be scary to share, I always feel much better letting my feelings out. In honor of Mental health Day this past Monday, I want to share five tips that I have been using that help me to move forward in life. I haven’t had the best mental health since the start of the pandemic in 2020, but I have worked very hard to better myself and have more control over my emotions. I have found to improve my mental health, journaling, meditation or breathing exercises, smiling or laughing, venting, and exercising are helping.  Journaling, let's talk. Journaling is when you have a book and you write however much you want. I have several journals to write in. Journaling has always been my space. I go to write wh...

I was bullied throughout my school years. People teased me about how I looked and how I was a little different than them.  They made fun of me because I had a disability.  Everyone is different. If we were all the same then life would be very boring!  Being you is the best you. God made me exactly as he intended!!  Having a disability doesn’t define who I am today! I am a sweet, kind, loving, gorgeous, wonderful, and a hard working person.  I love making new friends and meeting new people.  I had a hard time making friends because once someone made fun of me some of the others thought it was true.  Being bullied hurt me a lot. I cried and always wondered why me?  Why do they pick on me?  Why do people bully?  I was so hurt because I never hurt anyone or bullied another person.  People bully for many different reasons like they think its cool, or want to impress others, and they are really unhappy themselves.  I had my parents ...

Maddi works at Special Olympics Maryland as the Director, Marketing & Communications asked me about being a Media athlete at the Ravens Play60. The Ravens Play60 event is where the players from the ravens host an organization like SOMD for a two-hour clinic where they do drills and practice with the players and coaching staff to learn new drills and skills to apply in their competition. I was really interested in going for the media team. Thursday, September 15, we had a meeting to discuss any questions the other media athletes and I had about the event. We had to come up with 5-10 interview questions to ask the players the day of the Play60. The Play60 was on September 19. We all had to arrive at the headquarters by 2:30 p.m. When we got there, we had to check in and sign a waiver. There were 60 Special Olympic Maryland athletes, 3 Athlete Leader Media Team Members, and 8 staff attended. Then we played a quizlet about Baltimore. Then we got onto the bus that was taking us to the R...

Writing to someone with my disability is something that I talked about and it really inspired me. I want them to know they are truly amazing people who inspire others!  I have a learning disability, a sensory processing disorder, and hearing aids in both ears. I have lived with my disability my whole life. My doctors told my parents I may die before birth, and I have also been told that I can't do something I set my mind to which really hurts. Growing up with a disability can be extremely hard and we can go through many obstacles throughout our life. We may be different from everyone, but God made us who we are today uniquely awesome! We may be bullied, picked on, and teased but don’t let that bring you down because you are strong. Not doing well making friends, that's okay. You will find your crowd of people. School and learning things may be difficult but take your time and go at your own pace. I have learned things that have really shaped me into the person I want to be toda...

Starting my freshman year and sophomore year in High School was hard.  I got through it each and every day.  The subjects I was learning were too difficult. My freshman year of high school I joined Best buddies.  Best buddies is a program where people with intellectual disabilities work on building meaningful friendships and working on life skills. This was for students who were unable to benefit from mainstream classes and they remained in their classroom with their teachers without having to navigate the hallways, change classes, and able to be taught in ways that were appropriate for them.  During the one-hour lunch other students can come in, and I started doing just that and spent my lunches visiting, hanging out, and being accepted for exactly who I am.  I would talk with them, hang out with them, play games and eat lunch with them, all the while building amazing and meaningful friendships.  This club has changed my life. The best buddies teacher...

After the Special Olympics USA Games, I had a family vacation. My family vacation lasted one whole week. Sunday, July 12 we had to pick up my sister from the airport around 9 a.m. After picking her up we went back to the place we were staying at. We hung out there for a while. There was a pool where we were staying. We decided to go to the pool and have a relaxing day.  While in Florida we did some really cool things. We went to Gatorland which is a gator park. My sister and I sat on an alligator. I have sat on an alligator before when I was way younger. We also got to feed the alligators. We traveled about a few hours away to go to the beach. It was nice getting to go to the beach. My favorite part of the vacation was swimming with manatees. We got to the place which is called Fun to Dive. We only swam with manatees for an hour. They are such huge animals. Did you know manatee fart!? They do. The manatee farted in my sister's face! The manatee just ate the grass or algae under th...

College is a lot different than grade school. At college the teachers have office hours so that they could help their students.  The community college I go to, The College of Southern Maryland, has disability support services who work with students who have a disability. They help students who have disabilities with setting up appropriate accommodations to succeed.  I have accommodations that help me succeed. A few of my accommodations that are in place for me is to take my tests in a quiet environment like the testing center, and I get extra time on my tests. College isn’t like grade school where you could only get a little support and teachers had to work with more than one student at the same time which could be hard if you need help with something different! There are many resources to help you succeed in your classes at the college.  There is a place to go for tutoring if you need help with your classes, the library for quiet studies, and many other things to he...