"Well I have snow and water skied, jet skied, been parasailing, river rafting, sailing, why not dancing?"
So I responded, "I'll do it!"
Not knowing that I had a disability, she sounded quite surprised.
Within six weeks, I was in my first performance. It was just Zina and me. Since I was not comfortable with my own body, Zina showed me that even with tight muscles and involuntary movements, I could still fulfill my infinite dream of being a dancer.
Dancing with Zina also helped me fulfill my dream of returning to the entertainment industry. This dream goes back to the time I was 3 years old and I was chosen as the poster child for United Cerebral Palsy. Most children only serve in that capacity for a year or two, but I was so effective at tugging heart strings and personifying the UCP message that I remained for ten years. I raised a lot of money for UCP.
Over a decade, I appeared on the annual UCP telethon, met many stars and donors at cocktail parties and photo shoots, and even appeared on a CBS movie-of-the-week, "Marion Rose White."
I also played a role in the prime time soap opera, "Knots Landing." I really enjoyed the entertainment life. This gave me a buzz for "the world of entertainment."
After my 10 years in the public eye, my role quickly changed from actress to advocate when I encountered discrimination in junior and senior high school due to my disability. I had to fight for the right to do my homework with a typewriter rather than having to write it out. I even had to fight for the right to go to my neighborhood high school, against the wishes of some members of the faculty. I wound up graduating with honors.
The two best things that ever happened to me are my husband, Daniel, and my son, Brandon. Daniel and I met in our 1st year of college at Cal State Northridge. Daniel was a transfer student.
We took a disability studies class together. When we first met, Daniel’s Cerebral Palsy made it hard for me to understand his speech. I had my friend interpret for me.
The story of how we met is long, but the short and romantic version is that Daniel had seen me on the TV movie, "Marion Rose White."
The movie was aired worldwide, and he saw the movie when he was living in Santiago, Chile. He thought I was cute. When he moved to the United States with his mom, at the age of 16, he said he thought of me. Even though we met in 1992, it was not until the spring of 2003 when he came to visit me at my parents’ house that Daniel realized I was the same girl from the movie.
From then on, we were best friends for the next 5½ years. When we finally became a "couple," we went together for 2 years and were engaged for 1 year.
When I moved to San Francisco for 9 months, a city where I didn't know anyone, it really showed Daniel how independent I was. Daniel really wanted an independent woman! Before I moved, he thought I was too dependent on my family.
We have been married 5 years. We own a house, and we have a beautiful baby boy. He is such a miracle to us for a couple of reasons. First, my husband and I both have wanted children since we were young, and second, we have achieved our dreams despite society's fears.
After working full-time as an advocate for the last 5 years, I decided it is more important for me to be home with my son. Therefore, I started my own company called People Matter.
As a motivational speaker, I share my personal experience to address topics such as dating, career, advocacy, marriage, motherhood, and independent living. The mission of People Matter is to empower, inspire, and encourage people with disabilities and their loved ones to achieve independence, and to seek their full potential in life's experiences.
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People Matter! Topics From the Perspective of the Disabled: Independent Living, Dating, Marriage, Motherhood, Career, Advocacy, and Sensitivity Training for Employees.
People Matter utilizes motivational speaking to empower and inspire audiences. We encourage people with disabilities to achieve independence and to seek their full potential in life’s experiences. We try to involve their loved ones in the process. And we try to educate and inform the able-bodied community about the unique challenges faced by the disabled.
Contact: Dina Garcia, Founder of People Matter, via e-mail: PeoplMatter@aol.com.
