Weekly Diary: July 18 - 24, 2025

Weekly Diary contains what I did and how I felt during the past week. Weekly Diary will be published on my blog every Friday, For special reasons, the weekly diary will be delayed by a day or two. Let’s read my new weekly diary of July 18 - 24, 2025!  This diary took place in Cincinnati, Ohio which is my hometown. 

Friday, July 18 - My parents left for their Vegas vacation in the early morning. They will be staying there for a week. I am with my caregiver, Nya while my parents are gone. A night before my parents leave for vacation, I said goodbye and hugged them. We know how much we love and miss each other. We would be in touch until my parents come back from vacation. 

I started wearing my new leg braces. They fit me shoes perfectly. I feel very comfortable with them. 

I exercised for 20 minutes through YouTube. I enjoyed eating well. I watched Camp Alec, a short documentary film on Disney +. The short documentary film explores how kids who use AAC attend a week-long summer camp. It is such a heartwarming documentary film. It encourages nonspeaking children to be normal and have the same opportunities as everyone else. I really loved the documentary because I relate to anyone who uses AAC due to their speech disorder. It made me feel joyful and prideful. I highly recommend it!

Disney's People and Places: Camp Alec, a short documentary film explores how kids who are nonspeaking attend a week-long summer camp. It's available exclusively on Disney Plus. 

Saturday, July 19 - I spent all evening in downtown Cincinnati with my caregiver, Nya and her boyfriend. We had a great dinner at The Eagle, a local fried chicken restaurant. We went to the Montgomery Inn boathouse walkway with a view of Newport bordered by the Ohio River. Then we got a chance to go to the roller skating rink so we rolled around the rink. Because of my cerebral palsy, I can't skate but my caregiver rolled my wheelchair while she was skating around the rink. Roller skating is a great, fun weekend activity that brings you joy, positivity, and peace! It helps you improve your balance and energy. The rink is fully accessible for all. For those who cannot skate, you use your own wheelchair to roll around the rink with or without assistance. Caregivers are welcome to assist you with rolling around the rink! 🛼🛼👩‍🦽👩‍🦼🤩

View of Newport bordered by Newport
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Sunday, July 20 - I went to Taste of Belgium with my caregiver. Nya for brunch. I had a peach Bellini mimosa, veggie omelet, and caramel apple & walnut crepe (my favorite brunch dish) - what a delicious brunch! Then we stayed home for the rest of the day. I did ab crunch for 10 minutes. I ate leftover food from The Eagle for dinner. I watched a movie called Miracles from Heaven (the story of a young girl with incurable disease who prays for a miracle that heals her) - good movie and started watching Virgin River Season 1 on Netflix. Watching entertainment brings me positivity and emotion! 

Monday, July 21 - I started my day with eating a slice of broccoli cheddar quiche for breakfast. I practiced doing a job task - it made me feel incredibly accomplished and productive. I got assigned to create a practical project for work. I was excited to do it! I will complete the project this week! I exercised for 20 minutes through YouTube. I ate Indian food for dinner via DoorDash - this was my first time eating Indian food. I was looking forward to trying the food. I tried Vegetable Samosa (fried empanada with mildly minced potatoes and peas) with a green mild sauce and it was really good but later I changed my mind- I didn't like it because it seemed undercooked or somewhat weird, lol 😂 I rated it 4/10. I tried Indian paneer cheese saag (Saag is a green leafy vegetable sauce and Paneer is an Indian cheese made from a cow milk and it's very soft but it doesn't melt) with white rice and garlic naan flatbread and it tasted really delicious. The flavors were rich and authentic. I felt like I would eat it. I rated it 10/10! I really enjoyed eating Indian dinner. The Indian food serves as an authentic and cultural food experience. The flavors are uniquely rich and delicious. But sometimes it's spicy. I would like to eat Indian food again and try chicken saag! 😋 

Tuesday, July 22 - I went bowling with Metzcor as our third session of TR bowling league. I bowled 68 points without strike or spare and 78 points with one spare. 

My Zumba class got cancelled because the instructor had to cancel it last minute. It was rescheduled for Wednesday July 30. Now, I have two Zumba classes next week Tuesday and Wednesday before I leave for vacation.

I completed the assignment. I only spent 75 minutes working on it. I interviewed a guy with an intellectual disability who is obsessed with SpongeBob about his art, wrote the short description of his art and created the flyer. I feel accomplished with the assignment.

I watched a documentary movie called The Ride Ahead. It documented how a young man named Samuel Habib with cerebral palsy and epilepsy transitions into an adulthood so that he can live a normal life. The documentary also features many disabled mentors including Judy Heumann, the mother of the disability rights movement who are interviewed by Samuel. It was such a powerful and influential documentary movie. This is the most amazing, inspiring documentary I’ve ever seen. It teaches disabled people like me to pursue their big dreams and live a fulfilling and meaningful life. I cried and laughed throughout the documentary. Like Samuel, I am a person who uses AAC to talk to people and lives a normal life with a 24-hour care assistance. We both have a lot of amazing caregivers and friends who support us along the way. We both love traveling but our mobility is different. My type of cerebral palsy is milder than his type of cerebral palsy. His cerebral palsy is much severe than mine. We continue speaking up for ourselves and promoting inclusion in the whole world despite our unique challenges. We have a power to make a difference and make our voices heard! 🥹💪  it’s a must see documentary! The Ride Ahead is now available exclusively on PBS website/app for free through mid September. 

The Ride Ahead, a documentary movie tells the story of Samuel Habib, a young man with cerebral palsy epilepsy who transitions into an adulthood and lives a normal life. The documentary also features many disabled mentors including Judy Heumann interviewed by Samuel. It's available exclusively on PBS app for free through mid-September. 

Wednesday, July 22 - I ate Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Egg White sandwich on ciabatta for breakfast- mmm, delicious. At Metzcor, I created a keychain pendant for my caregiver's birthday using a 3D printer. The process only took 5 minutes to get it done. What a fast printing process! I will give the keychain to her as an early birthday gift next week because I won't be here for her birthday - I will be on vacation that time. 

I exercised for 15 minutes through YouTube. I got Cracker Barrel's Broccoli Cheddar Chicken with carrots and fruit cup for dinner via DoorDash -  delicious meal. 

I video chatted with my bestie, Laura and her mom who is in town with her. We had a great conversation. Laura showed me her unborn daughter's nursery. Her nursery is pink. There's a bunch of baby clothes including Minnie Mouse pink outfit. The nursery looks beautiful. I love it. I am super excited for the baby to come this fall! 

Thursday, July 23 - I wrote a letter to my bestie via email, saying I wanted to express my profound support and gratitude to her and her family. I hereby declare us as true friends. 

I had PT and it was great. I discovered that my balance is improving greatly because of my new braces. I gained a control of my balance without falling My new leg braces are working well and much better than my old ones.

My parents came back home from Vegas in the late evening. I hugged them and missed them. I asked them how their trip was and if they win the jackpot. They said unfortunately, they didn't win the jackpot but they enjoyed gambling and having fun! 

The past week has been wonderful for me. It was filled with excitement, relaxation, fun, joy, laughter, positivity, and wellbeing. I am grateful for what I did during the past week. 😁🥰  

Thank you for reading my weekly diary. I hope you enjoy reading it. Let me know how you react to my weekly diary in comments below.

I wanted to let you know that I’ll be replacing my weekly diary with something special next week. I’ll be on vacation next week, so I’ll be writing and publishing a new diary on my blog that documents my days in my hometown before the vacation. There won’t be a weekly diary next week, but it’s a special diary to get me ready for the vacation. I’ll resume publishing my weekly diary soon after my vacation. I’m focusing on blogging and preparing for the vacation. I’ll have an exciting announcement next week, so stay tuned! 

Thank you for your support and patience. I have been publishing posts including my weekly diaries on my blog since early this year. By writing my blog, I aim to educate readers about how people with disabilities especially those with cerebral palsy navigate a normal life like everyone else and they reach their full potential. I love blogging and it's my job to share my life experiences with all of you. I hope you enjoy reading my blog. I would appreciate all your love and support you have shown to me. It means a lot to me. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart! ❤️ I love you!

🩷 Marisa