"It's that they make lemonade out of lemons. Instead of looking at what's hard about it, they look at how to transform your disability into something beautiful, something intimate, something fun, something other than what it is...(because it's not any of those things)... but it can be experienced differently if you have the right person with you."

In part 2 of our "Pity & Perception" conversation we talk through the delicate dynamics of friendships and what it means to us to feel fully seen, considered, and included.

- Even friends get it wrong - Navigating the stories of those closest to us

- The Complexity of Emotional Reactions

- Feeling Included vs. Excluded

- The Grief of Limitations

- The Importance of Community

- Finding Joy in Difficult Situations

- Creating Intimacy Through Shared Experiences

"Don't we always go through life with our story just ready to slap it on whoever's in front of us? And then just like that we're up and running with that story." Angelique and Samantha dive a deeper into a brief encounter with a stranger that left Anqelique stung by the disconnect between how she sees herself and how he reacted to her disability that we discussed in the episode "Pity & Perspective-Pt 1"

We decided we are pro-cussing because sometimes it's better out than in and it can put that rage to good use.

Ever have someone look at you in a way that just deflates you and breaks your heart? What story have they overlaid on your experience and is it something you need to carry? In this episode, we talk about the different ways strangers relate to us--from sad looks to inappropriate comments to outrageous questions. And we talk a bit about both how those things land and how we have learned to cope with and move beyond them.

- Experiencing Pity: Personal Stories

- The Complexity of Reactions

- Insecurities and Emotional Responses

- The Misunderstanding Happiness

- Setting Boundaries and Personal Growth

- The Nature of Vulnerability

- Navigating Inappropriate Questions

- Perils & Prerogative of Rejecting Assistance

- Hypervigilance and Safety

"The choice that you make to live is the most important choice you make every day." -- In this episode, we get honest about the frustrations and fears that challenge us daily and how we struggle to cope and overcome them. With a little humor and a lot of candor, we share how our relationship with our bodies have evolved over time as we've learned to be kinder to ourselves and more patient with the set backs.

- The Choice to Live: Embracing Life's Value

- Perceptions of Disability: Beyond Extraordinary Achievements

- Navigating Daily Challenges: The Struggle of Normalcy

- Rest and Recovery: The Importance of Self-Care

- Adapting to Change: Learning to Listen to Our Bodies

- The Battle with Inaccessibility: Everyday Frustrations

- Body Image and Self-Acceptance: A Journey of Reflection

- Choosing Your Battles: Navigating Accessibility Challenges

"I feel like there's this sort of tantalizing closeness to things, the almost there of a lot of experience." In this episode, we discuss how our limitations affect our relationships and our sense of what is possible in social settings. Our conversation touches on setting boundaries when something doesn't feel right and how wonderful it feels when our needs are understood.

- The Choice to Live: Embracing Life's Value

- Choosing Your Battles: Navigating Accessibility Challenges

- The Complexity of Social Gatherings and Accessibility

- The Emotional Toll of Planning and Energy Management

- Friendship Dynamics: Understanding and Inclusion

- Feeling Seen: The Importance of Consideration in Relationships

- The Limits of Accessibility: Feeling Excluded from Experiences

This is us making a good go of it and learning the ropes. We get into some of the issues around the misunderstandings people have--even those closest to us--about what it's like to live with a disability.

- Understanding Disability Beyond the Surface

- The Emotional Journey of Living with Disability

- The Pressure to Maintain Positivity

- Navigating Relationships and Expectations

- The Challenge of Sharing Personal Struggles

- The Complexity of Changing Dynamics in Friendships