I’ve started 2018 with this feeling of further smashing the stigma of being disabled in the Big Apple.
Sure I’ve smashed it on HONY; sure I’ve smashed it at a Queens College ; sure i smashed it when i was featured with President Clinton at 8 years old and when i was up in George Steinbrenner’s Suite for some of the biggest games in Yankees history…But those glory days are gone and adulthood is HERE and i feel this urge to smash them socially on a daily basis!
Many of my peers went to South Hampton Fresh Air Camp and every fall i could tell the distance between my friends and I at school was growing. I didn’t understand why or how but i knew i was becoming an outsider in my own community.
That outsider mentality and feeling carried inside of me the years following, even at a radio station that has employed me daily as a talk radio producer. Yet, in 2018 I have begun chasing down the time lost and i feel encouraged to let people who might feel the same outsider feeling know that the time hasn’t left you to integrate into the world around you!
Personally, It’s never been easy to break out being used to certain patterns. Yet, just this week alone I’ll have gone to three different meet up group events and i encourage you to download the Meet Up app (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/meetup/id375990038?mt=8)
If you want to be more included in the work environment, constantly talk with your colleagues and you’ll realize just how included you are in the daily life.
Staying close to your circle of friends and appreciating each of them for the amazing and hardworking and supportive people they are might work wonders for you in 2018 as well!
Slowing down isn’t a bad idea either: meditating; praying to God; detaching from your phone; and wherever you are, this year i challenge you to spiritually look at the atmosphere around you. What i mean by that is the city is noisy, the crowds will always push you around, but being still inside will bring you a calmness that you don’t really feel on a daily basis unless. You can feel it! This year, you can and should feel that inner stillness…
2018 started on a Monday, a sign of a fresh start! Be still; be fresh and be IN in 2018!
The Writings of Alex Garrett 