Living Proof: Defined by the Ability, Not the Disability

By Yvette Cabrera

Living Proof is a real, insightful, honest, and yet, strongly informative story of how a young womans personal experiences through the U.S. public education system equipped her with the knowledge and tools that would unknowingly lead her later in life to recognize an issue of discrimination, resulting in the dissonance between the disabled and general populations. Where it has now lead her to embark on the road of sharing her story with YOU by writing this book to promote more awareness in regard to the lack of inclusiveness. From an early age, as she dealt with her physical disability, specifically visual impairment, she always had to adapt to each new situation as it came. For the most part, she remained to keep herself optimistic and live her life as ordinarily as possible. This book provides an original module that teaches and suggests how one can begin to bridge the gap, at any time, in reaching inclusiveness. It centers on the importance of self-advocacy through the importance of self-awareness. Foreseen as anything but ordinary to most, Living Proof gives way for individuals with and without disabilities to see how ones life is just as ordinary as another even if it may not seem like it. Currently as an entrepreneur, Ms. Cabrera is a dedicated disability consultant and life coach, compassionately bringing forth techniques and understanding to both the disabled and general populations in reaching inclusiveness on a personal and professional level.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Apr 27, 2017
• ISBN: 9781504379229

Yvette Cabrera

A Disability Consultant & Life Coach, cultivating a path for awareness and recognition of an undermined population by overcoming adversity within a systemic society. Aiming to set-forth a new foundation of inclusiveness, Ms. Cabrera seeks to bridge the gap between both disabled and general populations by recognizing self-awareness as a main component to bring about self-advocacy on a larger scale. Ms. Cabrera is a dynamic individual who’s been driven by narrow-mindedness and motivated by personal experiences; convincing her of the ever growing importance to share her story and perspective with the world. Not choosing to allow any setback or obstacle to override her goals, she can only hope her passion of helping others is only exemplified. And through her story, the willingness for understanding one another may be considered, learned and sought; so that all become more aware of the distinctions presented in this book.

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Copyright © 2017 Yvette Cabrera.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-5043-7921-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-7923-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-7922-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017906304

Balboa Press rev. date: 04/25/2017

CONTENTS

Purpose

Acknowledgements

Audience

Introduction

Chapter 1 Living on a Prayer

Chapter 2 Living Without a Care

Chapter 3 Living With No Regrets

Chapter 4 Living in the Moment

Chapter 5 Living for a Better Tomorrow

Chapter 6 Living by Faith

Chapter 7 Living with Purpose

Chapter 8 Conclusion

Bibliography

DISCLAIMER

The book was written to inform and educate. The information provided is solely based on the author’s personal experiences that have shaped her perspective. The CABRERA Module comes from the author’s firsthand experiences of the educational system amongst her instructors, professors, and mentors. Differing levels of success have been seen by users of the module. This book and the CABRERA Module are only intended to provide support, inspiration, suggestions, guidance, and perspective to anyone looking to learn within all facets and levels of society. Ideas and scenarios may be perceived, interpreted, or implied at the reader’s own risk. The book and its contents do not claim to be just, or determine that the CABRERA Module, its counterparts, and any material confined within these pages are suited to everyone. Choosing to utilize the contents will require the consent of the author with respect to her material. Trying to devalue any material appearing to threaten readers, can and will create implications, if anyone seeks to mislead others for personal interest.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this book is to serve as a teaching guide and to give perspective to a growing situation of dissonance amongst the disabled and general population. More importantly, it is a testament in which one’s circumstances can either break or make a person. Those who are considered disabled can lead an ordinary life with the right assistance and with and guidance from those around them; it is a way to show the disabled community that there is a hope in building a bridge over this gap of dissatisfaction, and it is also a leap forward in awareness. However, through the eyes of those affected, it is an issue that has been ignored. This book aims to focus on how and why people in general are not comfortable amongst disabled individuals. When you take a second look, it can become quite obvious how a great number of people within society are unsure of how to interact with individuals with a disability. Sadly, this is faced daily.

This self-help book is for you, the reader, who may be seeking to understand how it feels to be lost in the absence of inclusion. This is to teach you, anyone who deals with challenging circumstances daily (we all struggle with one thing or another), that your life should never be defined by the challenges, but allow the challenges to springboard the inner strength to move you forward in life. Your life’s circumstances should not ever stop you from living it. Make the best of it. No one can take from you what you have had to experience; it is from these experiences that will shape you into the person you wish to become. My hope for this book is to teach about the realities of being labeled disabled and to share a different perspective of these realities. Its purpose is to state truths on this matter, for those who are learning to better deal with their challenges and for those who are unaware of the challenges endured by the disabled population.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Wow! Where can I really begin to acknowledge all the significant people who have influenced me? I can take pages to acknowledge quite a few people for allowing me to get to this point of writing this book in my life. I would first like to acknowledge God and my parents for letting me live an ordinary life. For my parents, in loving me unconditionally, while at the same time supporting me in no matter what I did, in my life’s journey. For God, who gave me life. I owe it to recognize a higher power who has given me many blessings, the first being His willingness to let me survive an untimely birth. My faith has been stem from the demonstration of faith by my family, placing God at the center of their lives. I’m grateful that my family’s religious values brought forth my decision to seek out faith and trust in God, where I than began to see Him move through my life, even though at times it was difficult to see it. I would not be where I am today if it were not for the early years of self-discipline in spiritual and religious practices, so because of that, I thank my parents for exemplifying their spiritual discipline to center their faith in God. Although my early birth was unforeseen, and my parents did not understand then the risks that they would encounter, by God’s grace, they worked through all the things that came along.

Before moving forward, I would also like to acknowledge the professional and personal friendships that I have gained over the years. Their guidance has allowed me to get through the public education system smoothly. Yes, I was independent, completed my work on time, and reported to class on time, but these significant individuals gave me a helping hand when I needed that extra help.

To Melissa Strickler. You have gone far and beyond to personally edit my book before I had even known where I would be publishing. Your dedication and vigorous efforts of putting in all the time and sacrifice into this project has not been unnoticed. It has only exemplified your kind hearted spirit and character, to show an even greater understanding for awareness. I want to take this moment to acknowledge you by personally thanking YOU in this part of the book. It is with deep appreciation and gratitude in acknowledging you for ALL that you have done for me. I thank God for giving me the opportunity to know you; not only as a personal editor or just a friend from school, but as a dear friend who has walked with me through the trying times and victorious times. You are a blessing in my life. Thank You a million.

To the entire disabled community today, those of yesterday, and those still to come, this book is a monumental contribution to moving toward an inclusive society. For those whom I have encountered over the span of my life, and for those who are still a part of it, I would like to show my appreciation by acknowledging you and THANK YOU for all that you have taught me about the core of true inclusiveness. I believe inclusiveness can be brought about on a larger scale because of the relationships that have already been created. With that said, lessons of growth have inspired this material. It would not be able to stand without it for the world to discover. So, THANK YOU.

AUDIENCE

This book aims to reach anyone who aspires to learn something new; to impact those who want to gain a new perspective in life and be transformed in their own. It is for the seeker who wishes to discover so much more in life. Perhaps you are someone who hasn’t picked up a book in a long time, but the title appealed to you. To the professional audience (business-minded men and women) who are looking for new concepts to further open the door to the disabled community, this is the ultimate opportunity for you to build upon your ideas and to take a second look at how your business can thrive as it incorporates them. Learning to give individuals a fair chance will allow for the making of many strides on a personal and professional level. To those who have family members or loved ones facing a disability, here is a story that can provide hope for you when you feel that hope is lost. This is also directed to individuals who may have even never considered those with disabilities as ordinary folk, those who have undermined their potential, and to those who have criticized them, whether knowingly or not. The disappointingly great amount of discrimination and ignorance within society has driven the course of this book. It is written to reach anyone in need and anyone willing to learn a few lessons in life.

INTRODUCTION

I am comfortably sitting in my bedroom on my bed with my laptop on my lap, and it’s around four in the afternoon. Outside, the sun is burning hot during this summer season