Naomi Ortiz: …it takes a lot of energy just to exist in this world. Jesus, you know, it’s like if I want to enter in, let’s say with my family or cultural space as a disabled person, especially in Latino culture or Latinex culture, there’s such intensive expectations and like scripts of how you’re supposed to be disabled in that space. It is very much like, oh, you can be here, but you’re not going to necessarily be included, like people aren’t going to make an effort to talk to you, to interact with you, but like you being there it’s fine, which is often different in dominant cultural spaces, white spaces, where it’s like, I don’t know if it’s okay for you to be here but you’re here and so maybe I’ll interact with you or I might be more open to having a conversation with you. It’s been years of trial and error of like what the hell is happening when I’m in this space and understanding that on some level. And then it’s like, okay, how do I then prepare myself, my heart, my spirit when I enter into spaces to hopefully be okay. And oftentimes it’s like I can’t control other people. I can’t control these social norms or how people come at me and that sucks. It’s like if I can only shift myself and my own experience, how do I engage with people. Maybe I find somebody who I’m really interested in talking to or who’s willing to have a conversation… Can I go outside, can I look at the stars? Can I go sit next to a plant and just interact with this plant… it’s like broadening my world to not just be people but to also include place and other things that can be available to be comfortable, in comfort with, instead of in tension with. More here.