Tag: Bonner Paddock


TeenCP New Years Weekend Update!

2
January

Hi Guys,

So glad that I have the time to get back on here and talk about my latest news to you all. But first, I want to wish you all a happy happy new year! I hope you all were able to celebrate with your family and friends and started your new year off right. Do you have any 2012 Resolutions you’d like to share with us? I plan to write mine down (so they seem a little more permanent, ha!) The weather here has been absolutely amazing here! It’s like a little teaser of summer again– Yesterday, I went to the beach with some friends and ate a delicious local burger joint right on PCH–YUM! Did any of you do anything exciting this past weekend? We never do anything too big out here…just spending time with my family and friends is enough for me. :)

Well anyway, for those of you who don’t know already, I was lucky enough to be interviewed about TeenCP by a great group of people this past Friday. It is for this show called Live Life and Win that airs on channel 11 on Saturday mornings, pretty cool huh? They feature cool teens who are doing something amazing and inspiring, and they asked to have me on the show! It airs in a few months, but I was so flattered to be asked. For me TeenCP has become such a normal part of my life, that I find it funny sometimes that it has become newsworthy. This was my first experience with being formally interviewed about TeenCP and my life by a team of cameras…it was so funny (I don’t know if that is the right word–”awkward” maybe) to me to have two cameras follow me around for a couple of hours asking me about Cerebral Palsy and all that fun stuff. They did a bunch of close ups, and filmed me walking and showing them how my body is affected my CP… I think I did a good job for my first time, although it was a bit nervewracking for me to be asked some questions right on the spot and really put into words how I feel about CP and having created TeenCP. I’m glad I did it though because as I was asked some questions about what inspires me and why I continue to blog, it forced me to reflect and I realized even more how really thankful to have started TeenCP. It is because of you guys that I continue it and I just want you to know how much talking to you all out there really means to me. This has become such an important part of my life and I hope to continue to have the opportunity to share all of this with you, my friends! So a big thanks to Bonner Paddock, Jeff Dolen, and those who are with the Live Life and Win program for wanting to share my story with the nation!

I have added a few new links to my “Resources” section in the past few days, go ahead and scroll over them if you haven’t in awhile! I also wrote a guest blog on a great social networking site called dimmi, that features everything from disabilities to health and wellness and other obstacles that everyday people like us face at some point in our lives.  The link to that will be posted to my “Blogroll” section to the right as well. With the resources section, I just have that there to post not only helpful info for therapies and CP research groups, but also about other people with CP who do incredible and inspiring things! If you have some cool news or CP stars you’d like to feature, go ahead and share with me and I’ll add them to my resources section! I am a true believer in being a team player in the disability community and everyday I am still connecting with some talented and motivational people! So feel free to check out the resources and explore what is really out there. :)

I think that’s all for now–have a fantastic week! P.S. Cool featured photo huh? I took that last night when the fog rolled in downtown by the HB pier :)

-Katy

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Lunch with some CP stars!

20
December

Hi Guys!

What a great weekend we had here in Southern California. The weather was nice, the sun was out in December and I went to lunch down near San Diego with Bonner Paddock and John Quinn, two very inspiring people who have Cerebral Palsy. I feel lucky to know them! For those of you who are unfamiliar with Bonner, he climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise money for kids with disabilities and is now on track to be the first person with CP to do an Iron Man! John wrote a book about his struggle to keep his CP a secret in the Navy, and has ran several marathons as well! To find out more about their stories, see my Resources to the right of this post and you can buy John’s book and donate to Bonners cause. :)   Both Bonner and John are great examples of living life without limits. It makes me want to get out there and challenge myself physically…. maybe I’ll come up with somethin one of these days :p I had a very nice time talking with John about how he has dealt with CP and his world travels from his time in the Navy. It was great to get a chance to catch up with Bonner on his Iron Man training too! I think it’s awesome we all can relate to each other with our CP and really support one another in the present, and in our future adventures and causes. Thanks to John and Bonner for a fun afternoon, I look forward to next time!

As for tomorrow, if all goes as planned I’m going to stop by UCP-OC in the morning to talk about the Friday Night Club for teens and catch up with Elizabeth the Marketing Director at the center! I think it will be a great opportunity to get the word out to local teens who have a disability and would be interested in joining the fun. The night that I went to was a great experience for me because I still havent met that many teens with CP, so I look forward to more of these nights where I get to connect with others like me. It will also be a great way to spread awareness to the community and show that disabled teens like to have fun and socialize just like everyone else!I feel like that fact sometimes gets lost at first glance with some disabled teens, because maybe we don’t move or speak the same way a normal teen does or but that’s why awareness is so important and the Friday Night Club at the center is a great example of that.

Well that’s all for now, I’m off to wrap some Christmas gifts…so fun! I hope you all had a great weekend and get to relax a little over the holidays. Happy Holidays!

Stay cool TeenCPers–Katy

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Meeting new teens with CP!

5
September

Hey Guys,

I am going to keep this one short and sweet…

The other day I met up with these nice people whom I connected with through Bonner Paddock (www.1man1mission.org) and I had so much fun getting to know this girl Bridget and her mother Linda, because Bridget has CP just like you and me! It was really nice to talk about what it’s like having CP in school, and around friends… It is not always the easiest thing to deal with, but it sure is a lot nice when you know you can relate to someone just like you! Bridget actually has such a great story herself, (from what I gathered the other day) she is even more involved in UCP-OC than any other teen I know! In 2008 at just 12 years old, she was featured in Bonner’s documentary Beyond Limits for her money raising efforts… I think she raised nearly $1,000 just at a lemonade stand by herself! How awesome is that? Well anyway, what I am really getting at–with or without CP, we can all help a cause we are passionate about. Even though Bridget and I are both teens with CP (Bridget is just starting high school, wish her luck!) all we really want people to know that is that CP is not something that defines us; rather, it is just another thing we sometimes consider our insecurity….and by turning our insecurity into a positive by raising money or spreading awareness, we can totally impact someone else’s like who is going through the same thing!! I think that is really what supporting a cause is all about. There are definitely days when I feel down and frustrated with having CP, but then there are moments like these, when I meet people just like me doing something even cooler that really help to put everything into perspective. Life can truly be lived, without limits! Can’t wait to get to know you more Bridget, you are awesome and will have so much fun in high school!!

Talk soon guys, I am going to do a movie night at Soka soon featuring Bonner’s climb to Mt. Kilo–I can’t wait to see my classmates’ reaction. :)

Happy September, wow!

-Katy

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TeenCPers, I’m baaack!

22
June

Hello Hello! It has been much too long, my fellow TeenCPers, but I have a valid reason…. final exams, end of school activities, graduation… it was all too much fun! I am glad things have slowed down, andit it officially summer as of yesterday! My favorite season of the year :) Congrats to any TeenCP grads this year, how fun! 2011 is a great year so far. I hope things are low key for all of you guys on summer break. And if it’s not, I hope you are off traveling or doing something adventurous and memorable! Now is the time in our lives to be doing something worthwhile (or even doing a whole lot of nothing while we can!)

Hmm so what is on the agenda for July, everyone? Any plans? celebrations? vacations?

I will be spending my 19th birthday traveling around France and Belgium with my sister and friends who are kind enough to show us around. How cool is that? I’ve long antcipated this trip, and it is finally arriving! We leaving LAX on the 4th of July, have a layover at JFK in one of my favorite cities (NYC–too bad we cant stay for some fireworks!) and then we wll be crossing the pond right on into Paris :) Any suggestions as far as places to see in Paris beyond the given tourist attractions? I love little local cafes and vintage stores…

Today I am writing my first blog entry on the OMF website! I am so excited to be writing even more–especially about being a teen with CP and spreading awareness about the true needs of a teen with CP…let’s see how many people we can reach through TeenCP and OMF combined! A little side note, the OM Foundation www.1man1mission.org is a non-profit organization founded by Bonner Paddock (a local OC friend with CP!) OMF is currently working on several projects to create centers for childrens with disabilities around the world. Let’s go help them make that more possible by raising money and awareness for these kids! Any fund raiser is appreciated–a lemonade stand, a fun run with sponsors…you can make a difference too! :)

On another note, I hope all you fathers out there had a great time with your little ones… My family and I went up to Santa Monica/Venice for a nice hike in Will Rogers State Park, which is near Topanga Canyon for those of you who may be more familiar with that name. It was such a great hike…except sometimes I forget how useful a walking stick would be… it gives ya that extra push if one side is a bit weaker. And not even exclusive to having CP–they are just so helpful if you struggle with hills or balancing. A quick question–do any of you have the outside of your foot get really sore after a strenuous work out? I really don’t know how to shake that feeling off…I’ll post some photos…because believe it or not, I brought my camera! (that’s a first :p )

Well, I am off to do a bit of thinking for OMF… let’s hope the sun comes out so I can hit the beach! June gloom, YUCK.

Take care guys, and I’ll be on again soon now that I am school free for a few months.

-Katy

My bro matt and me, when I got tired :)

Twins!

Overlooking the Pacific Palisades.

The fam (minus two) on fathers day.

graduation day! love them.

We did it Sara :)

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I have a question!! {and some news!}

4
May

Hello hello!

My, My what a wonderful week this has been. I’m telling you guys, going for what you want PAYS OFF! I just received more scholarship money for college (YAY!) and am in the running (fingers crossed–time will tell!) to be on a cover of Seventeen Magazine! How cool would that be! It would be such an accomplishment to be on the cover representing not only TeenCPers, but everyone with something that may have held them back at some point in their life! It has been my favorite magazine for all my teen years…who doesn’t love style and health tips?! I love 17 because when I read it, I always feel good about myself after..not like, “oh gosh I need to improve the way I look, or I need to go out and buy expensive things…” Because 17 caters to the REAL girls out there :)  Check out the “Pretty Amazing” Contest in the latest issue of 17mag, or on the site www.seventeen.com/prettyamazing. What do you guys think??

And as for the question(s) I have… I am wondering if you (if you have CP and are a teenager) let your CP kind of control your lfe–so to speak… does it hinder you from making friends, from doing the things you love? I ask this because I want to know to what degree CP “controls” your life…do you let it? Is it an insecurity of yours? Do you have anything about yourself that you’re insecure about that has nothing to do with your CP? I think that is enough for now, thank you! I hope you don’t mind me asking these types of questions…I guess I just am curious because I have been asking myself these questions for the past few days and they have been turning in my head, and I want to hear a new perspective. Thanks! I appreciate you simply reading over my blog, even if you dont feel comfortable answering questions, who knows–you may find out something new on here that is useful! You guys are all “pretty amazing” yourselves! (ha, get it? the seventeen contest? :p) Enough with my silly jokes already geesh…

Anyway, in the coming months I may be posting about various activities for The OM Foundation–a non-profit organization dedicated to building centers in Africa and the US for peoples with disabilities! How awesome is that? The founder is a good friend of mine, Bonner Paddock. Remember him? The crazy & cool guy with CP who climbed an insanely tall (20,000 ft) mountain in Africa?  He is off to Africa and in mid-training for an Iron Man in 2012…I know, right! So in the meantime I am going to brainstorm to help throw some ideas around about how to really get everyone pumped up for his Iron Man… he is doing this to not only be the first person with CP to finish, but to raise money for the foundation. So since you are all the wonderful people that you are, I urge you to visit www.1man1mission.org and really get a feel for OMF and Bonner! This is a big deal and I think us TeenCPers need to turn it up a notch by having a voice! Let’s get people out there to understand what CP really is…and even for people with CP to know that there is help!! That is the mission of not only OM Foundation, but UCP’s and organizations alike across the world. To go Beyond the Limits…whatever limits those may be (physical, social, mental)…so please, take a second and “like” this page on facebook…. one dollar will go toward these centers! http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/omfoundation

Thanks Guys! I have to knock out some studying…. summer is almost here, yay!

Take care, Happy Wednesday!

-Katy

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