2nd Dwight School Visit
I had the opportunity to revisit Dwight School in Manhattan's Upper West Side today. This was my second opportunity to speak in front of the fourth grade classes there. From one school year to the next, the two units are pretty similar. Last time I was asked to speak about my work as a little person and disability rights activist, in order to prove that responsible citizens are active members of their communities. This time I was asked to speak about how the decisions we make affects who we are. I hope that this can become a yearly presentation at Dwight. The students make up an amazing audience. Both during my visit in May and today's visit, I played my Our Ability video (http://youtu.be/JLdI12S2MLQ) for the students. I had to let them know that it's a little outdated but it still shows a typical day in the life of Becky. Then I went on to share my story that includes all of the decisions that I've had to make in my life. One of the students asked me to name the toughest decision that I've ever had to make. My answer was in November 2012, when I decided to take a break from working in the entertainment industry and head home to Boston. After several temporary job assignments and 100 interviews before my first permanent job in the industry, it was really hard to let go. At 28, I had no clue what was going to be next for me but I knew that I needed a break. Fortunately, after two years, I can finally say that this was a healthy decision to make. I'm in a better place now and have learned so much. Now living in New York City, I have the ability to share my story with the world and work alongside diverse performers to help create a more inclusive entertainment and news media landscape. The rest of the questions were well thought out. The students picked up a lot of facts from the video and asked me about the 200 types of dwarfism that exist. I named several and then went on to tell them about the specific types that have really long names. They asked me about struggles in grade school and then times when I take the opportunity to educate people who may come off as ignorant at first. I encouraged them to make smart decisions and treat people the way that they would want to be treated in return. I'm proud of them. They were a great audience and I look forward to future Dwight School visits. Thank you to Ashley Sharik for inviting me back!
