Welcome to a special six-part series featuring Megan Bailey. Megan speaks openly from her perspective as a young woman living with a lifelong disability. In her early years, she received therapy services through Rainbows United.
Today, she’s a college graduate, a professional, and an advocate—ready to share her journey.
Special thanks to Brandon Paulseen, host of the ICT Podcast, who sat down with Megan to hear her story—you can listen in here.
Now that I have graduated from WSU, Magna Cum Laude, with a bachelors degree in communication studies, it is time for me to start a new adventure and put all I have learned from my classes, and apply that to what I will do in the future. But where do I begin? My anxiety has increased rapidly since I graduated from college. This year has been a busy one for me. Sometimes I wish my anxiety would go away, however I have learned that anxiety can be seen as a good emotion, because it motivates me to branch out and try new things.
I am still anxious to look for a job because of my disability because most jobs are made for people who can walk on their own, balance, and drive. Sometimes I feel sad about this, however, I know there are many things out there that I can do, even though I may have to adjust and do things differently.
I have really enjoyed writing these six blogs, even though they were difficult for me to write. It made me super emotional, because I felt uncomfortable talking about my disability, especially when I found out that these blogs were going to be posted on social media and the Rainbows website for the world to see. I am scared, because I never know what people are going to say in the comments. After some encouraging conversations, I realized my voice is a perspective that needs to be shared.
It was very satisfying to talk about how much I have accomplished because I have been through a lot. I was so excited to write about walking independently with my canes, and how I was able to learn, with the help of my hearing aids, FM microphone, and of course, my teachers. My disability has given me a voice to share my story that is needed because I believe that writing these blogs will help spread the word and help others who have a disability believe in themselves as well.