Women on the Rise: Podcasting, Passion, and Purpose with Angie Castro

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You are bold, you are fearless, you are radiant

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It's time to unlock the diamond from within the

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BFF Empowerment Podcast. I am your host, Black

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Diamond. And with me today on the Women on the

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Rise segment of the BFF Empowerment Podcast,

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I have the privilege of speaking with Ms. Angie

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Castro. Thank you so much for joining me today.

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Thank you for having me. I am so excited to just,

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you know, be on your podcast today. Honestly,

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it's been a little bit since I've been behind

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the mic. So, I mean, I am just grateful to be

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here and I look forward to this episode. Actually,

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it's been the opposite for me. So basically,

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that's what inspired me to start. I had always

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been the guest on other people's podcasts. So,

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you know, I was like, I do this. I've been doing

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this for quite some time. I like the idea of

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starting my own platform, you know. doing what

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I already do. Instead of just being the guest,

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I'm going to be the host. Yeah, VF. And it was

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actually after my last interview. Well, I've

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done some more since then. But what triggered

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it was an interview I did in March of 2025. And

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I was telling the host that, you know, I had

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been thinking about it for a while, but I really

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just didn't know how to get started. And I didn't

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want to do it by myself. That happens to all

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of us, honestly. Because I don't like the whole

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monologue and feel like I'm just talking and

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talking and there's no like feedback. There's

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no back and forth conversation. But after that,

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you know, I did. I was like, wait a minute. What

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do I mean? I don't know what to do. I already

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have the whole setup here. And so I originally

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started it with my best friend. Unfortunately,

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that just didn't. last because it was more of

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my thing than her thing she was just joining

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because i asked um so i was like well you didn't

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want to do it by yourself but unfortunately you're

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doing it by yourself but you know what though

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you're doing great and honestly you know things

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happen where it's just like this is your passion

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project you started it it's your baby not everybody's

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gonna see it with the same priority that you

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see it I mean I was on the back I was doing it

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all myself anyways you know when it came to the

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editing and the promoting and the videos I'm

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like well I'm already doing all the work myself

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what difference does it make I get it you know

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sometimes you're a one -woman show and That's

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just what it boils down to. I completely understand

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that for sure. It's hard work. Yeah, it is. And

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I do it all. And that's why I developed the Women

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on the Rise segment, just so I can get that conversational

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side of the podcast that I want. And then I do

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my solo episodes where I have a particular topic

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that I'm speaking on, just so that I can have

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a mix. I like that. That's great. All right.

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But less about me, more about you. All right.

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So do you mind telling the listeners a little

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bit about yourself? Sure. Yeah. So you guys already

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know my name. I'm Angie. And oh, man, what about

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me? I'm really bad at talking about myself. But

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anyway, I grew up in Chicago for the first 13

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years of my life. And then I moved to Madison,

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Wisconsin, which is only like two and a half

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hours away, you know, driving. And well, for

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the record, I don't drive. I'm blind. So but,

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you know, I've been in Madison for about. oh

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I don't even know 20 something years I guess

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and um you know kind of made it you know my home

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and you know I have friends here and um but yeah

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you know I Let's see. I'm an administrative assistant

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for a respite center for children with disabilities.

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That's my job. I have an adorable guide dog.

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He's a black Labrador. He's almost five. His

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name is Draco. And, you know, he's my baby. So,

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you know, he gets to, you know, go to work with

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me. He also um hangs out in studio with me but

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he's not in studio with me at the moment um when

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I record I have a podcast that's been one that's

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been running for eight years called this is what

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blend looks like and when you were talking about

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podcasting it reminded me of how I started and

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why I started and um you know, how important

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a passion project really is. Like, this podcast

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is my baby. Like, I basically gave birth to it.

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I remember I was going to school for audio engineering,

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and I kept saying, I'm going to create a podcast,

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and it's going to be a blindness -related podcast.

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And, you know, I was just kind of, like, manifesting

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it out loud. in that way, right? And so then

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when I had graduated from the program, I interned

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at a studio, at a music studio over the summer.

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And my mentor, who was also my boss at the time,

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she had a little podcast that she was doing with

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you know two friends of hers and then later they

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just she just decided she didn't want to do it

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anymore you know it wasn't something that she

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was passionate about but I kept telling her about

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this podcast I'm like I really want to do this

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podcast I'm I already know what I'm going to

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call it and um you know I was just kept talking

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about it she's like stop talking about it do

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it sit down write a proposal and do it so I remember

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I sat down I wrote a proposal of what I wanted

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it to be um how I wanted to structure it um and

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that I wanted to have co -hosts and originally

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it was going to be a three woman uh show but

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the two people that I was going to do it with

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my best friend and someone that I didn't know

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well bailed on me and I was like great I guess

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I'm gonna have to go at this alone and then one

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day I was on Facebook and I just wrote a status

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I'm like hey I'm looking for you know another

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woman or two to join me um I have a podcast that

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I'm trying to like bring out And one of my friends

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was like, hey, I've always wanted to do something

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like this. Can I be your co -host? And I'm like,

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sure. So we've been doing it for eight years.

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You know, we've had a couple of hiatuses and

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stuff like that. And like right now, we've not

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recorded an episode. And I'm also just in a phase

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of like wanting to. How could I say this? Like,

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I'm trying to figure out what direction I want

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this podcast to go because we've been running

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for eight years and I want to grow and I feel

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like I'm not growing. And I just, you know, I

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need to figure out what I want to do. So, I mean,

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we're going to meet about that, but. you know

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it's my baby I birthed it um and the reason why

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I came up with the name uh was because I was

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always like told oh you don't look blind you

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don't look blind and I'm like well what does

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blindness look like it doesn't look like anything

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you know in in general like you can blindness

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can look like so many things for a lot of people

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and so You know, I've always interviewed guests

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who are blind or guests who work in the field

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of blindness. I've done several episodes, several

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interviews. We're currently in our sixth season,

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but we're, you know, on a pause right now. But,

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you know, I can't wait to bring it back. I do

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it all. You know, I've done... you know, interviewing

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and I, you know, run social media and stuff like

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that. And, you know, I run meetings. I, you know,

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when I first started, I was producing it on my

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own and then I've had producers help me out and

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stuff like that. And currently I have producer

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helping us out with editing, but I'm basically

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still. the mastermind, you know? Like, I have

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a co -host, but I'm the one, you know, calling

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all the shots, because it's my baby. But, you

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know, of course, you know, my co -host helps

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me out and gives me ideas, you know, but when

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a project is yours, you have all the same, you

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know? I thought about trying to find a co -host,

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but I just... didn't want to be in a situation

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where I ended up doing it on my own again because

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thankfully when you know my friend and I split

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it was at the beginning so we literally had only

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recorded like we had like four or five episodes

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Were there any hard feelings when that happened?

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No, we're still friends. We've been best friends

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for 19 years. It wasn't her thing. She liked

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the idea and wanted it, but I think she just

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really didn't understand all the work that went

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into it and the commitment that it required.

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I've thought about it. I've contemplated. I've

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thought about doing guest co -hosting to try

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to you know have people come on and kind of do

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like a I guess interview type you know to try

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to see if I could find a co -host that I would

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mesh with but my only issue was I just don't

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want to end up in a situation where it doesn't

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work out they don't put in as much effort as

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I am and then I end up going through this again

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because I want it to stay consistent I don't

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want it to be like oh two months she has a co

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-host oh now the co -host is gone two months

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later there's a new co -host you know and it

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just doesn't yeah so and i have taken hiatus

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too because yeah it's a lot it's a lot to do

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it on your own But it's definitely something

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that I'm passionate about. And, you know, I originally

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was going to do a blindness related podcast,

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too. I was actually going to call it Blind Girl

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Magic because because that's actually a song

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that I wrote. Oh, look at you. But I didn't want

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to do a blindness related podcast because there's,

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you know, a plethora of blindness related podcasts.

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There are, there are. And you know what? When

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I started, that was the thing for me. I was like,

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you know, I started in 2018 and I was just like,

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okay, most of the blindness related podcasts

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that I'm finding are run by men. I wanted something

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by women. And look at this dude. Like now it's

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2026 and there's so many of us. And I'm like,

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damn, it's so crazy. You know, that's the thing.

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That's why I like that. I chose a topic. First

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of all, that's. definitely you know empowerment

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is everything that I do that's women's empowerment

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girls empowerment that's everything that I do

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everything I do outside of podcasting work related

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everything writing all of that is all empowerment

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related so I was like okay I can use the empowerment

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platform on days when I feel like talking about

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blindness, I could do an episode on blindness

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or if it's a situation where, you know, I'm celebrating

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something related to disability, you know, so

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I could still have that opportunity to sprinkle

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in, you know, disability related topics without

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it primarily being just about disability. Disability.

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Yeah. And that's kind of like when I'm running

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into as well, I'm like, you know, I. I do want

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to do more of like the blindness thing, but I

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also want to do fun things, but, you know, and

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I still need to figure out what that looks like.

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But yeah, I, there's a lot of things to me. Like

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I play piano by ear. I love music. You know,

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growing up, I, I had all these, I had toy pianos

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and I would always play with them and, you know,

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and. So I have that in me too. But yeah, there's

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a lot of things that I love. Like I love dogs.

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I love fashion. I love makeup. I love shoes.

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I love handbags. Oh, I need to have you on my

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fashion episode then. Because that's what I love.

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I don't do makeup, but I love fashion. I'm a

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fashionista. I have been since I was little.

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yeah same exactly and I have my mom to thank

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for that because she like even now like we'll

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go shopping and it's just like I'm shopping with

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my best friend you know like she knows what I

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like she'll be like oh feel this or what do you

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think of this or like you know it's just it's

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just so great and even like my guide dog like

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he loves going shopping with us and he's so patient

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you know he'll lay in the in the fitting room

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and and and wait as we're trying things on and

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like he'll wag his tail in approval you know

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when we're talking about what we're trying on

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it's like it's like he knows it's so cute and

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like he'll match with me so Like if I, you know,

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dress up, like he'll wear either a tie or a bow

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tie to match me or he'll wear a bandana. Like,

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oh yeah, he loves it. Like he eats it up and

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I'm like, yep, that's exactly my dog. Like, and

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that's one thing, like I've always said, because

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I'm such a fashionista, I said, if I have a dog,

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if I have a guide dog, he's going to match with

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me. like it it's it seems so like how could I

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say this I'm trying to think of the word but

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like I don't want to say self -absorbed but like

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it seems like the stupidest reason to like to

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to think about why you want a guide dog right

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of course like the mobility aspect that's why

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I have him right yes you know because of what

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he does for me You know, he's not just this accessory

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that's walking around with me. But, you know,

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also, like, because of who I am. He's a part

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of me. Just like if you were a kid. Like, if

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you had a child, you would have your child dress

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up, too. So, I mean, it's so different. They're

00:17:32.950 --> 00:17:36.690
an extension of you. Yes. And, you know, that

00:17:36.690 --> 00:17:39.910
doesn't take away from his job. Like, you know,

00:17:39.950 --> 00:17:43.069
that doesn't bring attention or anything. Like,

00:17:43.109 --> 00:17:45.609
I have never had any issues. Because some people

00:17:45.609 --> 00:17:47.150
are like, oh, wouldn't that bring attention?

00:17:47.450 --> 00:17:49.789
Like, honestly, it doesn't. Like, sure, I've

00:17:49.789 --> 00:17:52.990
had people, like, say one or two comments, but

00:17:52.990 --> 00:17:56.529
they ignore him, you know? He's working, so it

00:17:56.529 --> 00:17:59.190
doesn't mean he doesn't have to, you know, be

00:17:59.190 --> 00:18:01.289
presentable just because he's working. Right,

00:18:01.289 --> 00:18:03.569
right. Like, he can still look fresh. He can

00:18:03.569 --> 00:18:07.269
still be fly and still do his job, you know?

00:18:07.410 --> 00:18:10.109
But, yeah, that's my baby. Like, I love him.

00:18:10.250 --> 00:18:13.029
And, you know, he's such a good boy, loves his

00:18:13.029 --> 00:18:21.519
job. I'm so lucky to have him. But anyway, like,

00:18:21.619 --> 00:18:27.539
I guess more things about me. Let's see. I podcast.

00:18:27.700 --> 00:18:35.500
I love fashion. I have a job. Let's see. As I

00:18:35.500 --> 00:18:42.109
mentioned, I'm blind. So I was born. five months

00:18:42.109 --> 00:18:46.430
early, weighing almost a pound, and I have retinopathy

00:18:46.430 --> 00:18:51.130
prematurity, ROP, and I also have peripheral

00:18:51.130 --> 00:18:57.650
retinal degeneration, and, which means, like,

00:18:57.690 --> 00:19:02.589
the sides of my retinas are thinning, but I have

00:19:02.589 --> 00:19:07.950
some vision, you know, and, you know, I use it,

00:19:07.970 --> 00:19:11.549
you know, as much as I can but I also use non

00:19:11.549 --> 00:19:14.609
-visual skills as well because when my vision

00:19:14.609 --> 00:19:19.029
isn't effective you know I have something I can

00:19:19.029 --> 00:19:21.910
fall back on so like when I cook I don't I don't

00:19:21.910 --> 00:19:25.630
use my vision I use non -visual skills yeah which

00:19:25.630 --> 00:19:31.230
saves me so much you know definitely I remember

00:19:31.230 --> 00:19:34.230
when I first like started living on my own when

00:19:34.230 --> 00:19:37.269
I was 19 because I went blind when I was 15 so

00:19:37.269 --> 00:19:39.750
prior to that I had no experience for cooking

00:19:39.750 --> 00:19:43.289
nothing like I was literally scared of the stove

00:19:43.289 --> 00:19:47.069
like anything dealing with heat like I was so

00:19:47.069 --> 00:19:50.799
I was you know eat a microwave food pop -tart

00:19:50.799 --> 00:19:54.700
cereal because you know i was like you had to

00:19:54.700 --> 00:19:59.480
survive But then it was like, I eventually was

00:19:59.480 --> 00:20:01.519
like, you know what? You can't live off this

00:20:01.519 --> 00:20:03.660
for the rest of your life. You have to get in

00:20:03.660 --> 00:20:07.539
there and learn how to cook. So once I finally

00:20:07.539 --> 00:20:10.980
got over that fear of the heat and, you know,

00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:13.579
cause it was for me, it symbolized fire. Like

00:20:13.579 --> 00:20:16.240
that was all because I couldn't visually see

00:20:16.240 --> 00:20:19.200
it anymore. So it's just like, it's too hard.

00:20:19.240 --> 00:20:22.019
I went through a period of that, you know, when

00:20:22.019 --> 00:20:26.220
I was like a teen, I'm like, it seems scary you

00:20:26.220 --> 00:20:30.880
know but it is crazy like even though my mom

00:20:30.880 --> 00:20:36.240
never let me cook as a kid I always watched her

00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:39.339
cooking so it was like even though I had never

00:20:39.339 --> 00:20:42.500
like done it hands on once I actually got over

00:20:42.500 --> 00:20:44.420
that fear and got comfortable in the kitchen

00:20:44.420 --> 00:20:48.039
like I realized like I actually could cook even

00:20:48.039 --> 00:20:50.799
though I had never you know physically done it

00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:54.619
before I only would actually watch her cook That's

00:20:54.619 --> 00:20:56.920
crazy. Yeah. Isn't that crazy how that works?

00:20:56.960 --> 00:20:59.480
Because like with me, like I was always around

00:20:59.480 --> 00:21:02.240
in the kitchen, like maybe not always watching

00:21:02.240 --> 00:21:04.680
my mom, but just listening to her and just like

00:21:04.680 --> 00:21:07.599
observing what she was doing in the kitchen.

00:21:08.900 --> 00:21:13.160
And, you know, so I went through blindness adjustment

00:21:13.160 --> 00:21:22.119
training at Blind Ink in Minnesota. I mean, I

00:21:22.119 --> 00:21:24.299
don't know if, you know, if there were branding

00:21:24.299 --> 00:21:29.099
now or what they're doing. But, yeah, I went

00:21:29.099 --> 00:21:35.680
in 2019. And, of course, you know, I went through

00:21:35.680 --> 00:21:39.380
the pandemic there and, like, had to, you know.

00:21:42.720 --> 00:21:45.880
figure out and like get comfortable in the kitchen

00:21:45.880 --> 00:21:48.740
you know like I remember when the pandemic hit

00:21:48.740 --> 00:21:51.480
you know some people were going home which I

00:21:51.480 --> 00:21:53.920
get it right you know because there were some

00:21:53.920 --> 00:21:57.339
scary times and I was like no I'm gonna stay

00:21:57.339 --> 00:22:00.839
I fought I fought for a year to get here I'm

00:22:00.839 --> 00:22:03.900
going to stay. And I remember I called my, my

00:22:03.900 --> 00:22:05.660
family. I'm like, Hey, I'm good. I'm going to

00:22:05.660 --> 00:22:08.039
stay here. My mom's like, why, why are you going

00:22:08.039 --> 00:22:11.359
to stay? Why don't you come home? And I'm like,

00:22:11.500 --> 00:22:15.059
no, you have no idea. Like, I get it that you're

00:22:15.059 --> 00:22:18.400
concerned about, you know, me being safe, but

00:22:18.400 --> 00:22:20.799
trust me, we're fine here. Those of us staying

00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:24.920
were okay. You know, it's going to be fine. And

00:22:24.920 --> 00:22:27.660
I remember like talking to my dad, my dad was

00:22:27.660 --> 00:22:34.420
like, honey, you made a good decision. I'm glad

00:22:34.420 --> 00:22:36.880
that you're staying, you know? Cause I thought

00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:39.559
to myself, like, why am I going to go home when

00:22:39.559 --> 00:22:44.880
I'm getting comfortable here? Like, and that

00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:48.220
this is going to be a taste for me to see what

00:22:48.220 --> 00:22:52.880
I, what I can do. So exactly. So, you know, I

00:22:52.880 --> 00:22:55.319
wasn't scared. I'm like, all right, let's do

00:22:55.319 --> 00:22:58.380
this. You know? So, you know, of course I, I,

00:22:58.480 --> 00:23:02.039
um, I challenged myself. I cooked things I've

00:23:02.039 --> 00:23:04.099
never cooked before. Of course, you know, when

00:23:04.099 --> 00:23:06.319
you're in training, you're cooking things, even

00:23:06.319 --> 00:23:08.059
things that you've never made before. Like I

00:23:08.059 --> 00:23:10.680
roasted a pork. I've never done that. And that

00:23:10.680 --> 00:23:15.000
was cool. But yeah, during the pandemic, I really

00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:18.420
challenged myself and I was like, damn, I can't

00:23:18.420 --> 00:23:23.339
cook. You know, when I came in, you know, I was.

00:23:23.799 --> 00:23:27.440
I had some exposure to the kitchen because I

00:23:27.440 --> 00:23:32.299
was already baking and, you know, cooking simple

00:23:32.299 --> 00:23:36.119
things like eggs and bacon and, you know, mac

00:23:36.119 --> 00:23:40.640
and cheese, like soap top mac and cheese. And

00:23:40.640 --> 00:23:45.849
I was already. Like, you know, I've made baked

00:23:45.849 --> 00:23:49.230
mac and cheese. Like I've made stir fries. Like,

00:23:49.289 --> 00:23:53.990
oh, me too, girl. That is my favorite. So baked

00:23:53.990 --> 00:23:57.609
macaroni and cheese. Yes. I could kill a whole

00:23:57.609 --> 00:24:02.750
pan. So like little things like that, right?

00:24:02.829 --> 00:24:05.750
Like, you know, stir fries, like just like basic

00:24:05.750 --> 00:24:08.349
things like that. So I was no stranger to the

00:24:08.349 --> 00:24:11.009
kitchen. I was not afraid of the kitchen or nothing.

00:24:11.549 --> 00:24:15.089
You know, but I was like, I do. I wanted to learn

00:24:15.089 --> 00:24:18.750
how to cook and do other things because like

00:24:18.750 --> 00:24:22.230
I was using my vision and it was taking me, you

00:24:22.230 --> 00:24:26.109
know, a while to like make a meal. And so then

00:24:26.109 --> 00:24:28.549
when I started learning like hacks and things

00:24:28.549 --> 00:24:32.210
and like the non -visual skills of it, I got

00:24:32.210 --> 00:24:34.930
comfortable and I'm comfortable in the kitchen

00:24:34.930 --> 00:24:38.410
now. Like I've been, you know, I can cook a lot

00:24:38.410 --> 00:24:42.039
of things like. you know i can make steak i can

00:24:42.039 --> 00:24:50.059
you know uh bake cookies and cake and i've never

00:24:50.059 --> 00:24:52.900
been a writer like especially baking something

00:24:52.900 --> 00:24:57.490
from scratch like I don't know what it is. It's

00:24:57.490 --> 00:25:00.150
like, I remember just trying to bake the cookies

00:25:00.150 --> 00:25:02.710
and the little, you know, what's those things

00:25:02.710 --> 00:25:05.329
called? The Pillsbury cookies. It was like they

00:25:05.329 --> 00:25:08.970
always came out. I was like, I followed the instructions

00:25:08.970 --> 00:25:12.450
of the packet. Why are they so hard? You know,

00:25:12.509 --> 00:25:15.990
they say baking is a science. It's funny that

00:25:15.990 --> 00:25:20.549
you say the Pillsbury cookies because I've never,

00:25:20.609 --> 00:25:24.769
of course, I've seen them, right? i've never

00:25:24.769 --> 00:25:27.029
bought them i've always made my cookies from

00:25:27.029 --> 00:25:32.609
scratch and you know and sometimes i'm like maybe

00:25:32.609 --> 00:25:36.430
i should buy you know the the pillsbury cookies

00:25:36.430 --> 00:25:40.329
just to you know cheat a little bit sometimes

00:25:40.329 --> 00:25:46.099
and that works so hard but now i have made cookies

00:25:46.099 --> 00:25:48.160
like from scratch and i actually felt like they

00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:50.019
came out better i remember one time i was making

00:25:50.019 --> 00:25:52.579
my son we were supposed to be making cookies

00:25:52.579 --> 00:25:57.539
well somehow um they got combined in the oven

00:25:57.539 --> 00:26:00.619
so it became one big old cookie cake and you

00:26:00.619 --> 00:26:06.000
know i just i just went with it i'm like we got

00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:10.380
cookie cake today oh i bet he loves that yes

00:26:10.380 --> 00:26:13.319
I was like who I don't know what happened what

00:26:13.319 --> 00:26:16.660
made them all like you know burst together so

00:26:16.660 --> 00:26:19.359
it just became one big I'm like okay so then

00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:22.740
I intentionally would make cookie cakes from

00:26:22.740 --> 00:26:25.339
that point on I would make the dough and everything

00:26:25.339 --> 00:26:28.660
from scratch and put whatever you know toppings

00:26:28.660 --> 00:26:33.220
you wanted in it and just bake it oh that's so

00:26:33.220 --> 00:26:37.069
sweet and I hear like cooking with kids is so

00:26:37.069 --> 00:26:40.589
much fun too like just letting them experiment

00:26:40.589 --> 00:26:44.430
and help you out and yeah I've always cooked

00:26:44.430 --> 00:26:47.009
with him since he was I guess because yeah I

00:26:47.009 --> 00:26:50.329
never had that growing up so I could see my mom

00:26:50.329 --> 00:26:52.910
cooking but she never actually involved us in

00:26:52.910 --> 00:26:56.450
the kitchen and it's I just still it still kind

00:26:56.450 --> 00:27:00.700
of amazes me today how like yeah I She somehow

00:27:00.700 --> 00:27:05.200
remembered the things she used to cook, and I

00:27:05.200 --> 00:27:07.859
could duplicate them without even knowing the

00:27:07.859 --> 00:27:11.140
ingredients or how much of this she put in. It

00:27:11.140 --> 00:27:13.279
was just like I knew, okay, she used to make

00:27:13.279 --> 00:27:16.299
stew chicken. She used to make collard greens,

00:27:16.539 --> 00:27:18.980
baked macaroni. It's just like I remember what

00:27:18.980 --> 00:27:21.779
they look like and the ingredients it took to

00:27:21.779 --> 00:27:25.720
make it, and then somehow, yeah, I just... i'm

00:27:25.720 --> 00:27:29.400
able to duplicate that that is awesome you know

00:27:29.400 --> 00:27:33.380
my mom was the same way like she wasn't you know

00:27:33.380 --> 00:27:37.420
like oh come cook with me like it was just very

00:27:37.420 --> 00:27:41.299
like you know she was a one woman in the kitchen

00:27:41.299 --> 00:27:44.920
um because she's like that she doesn't like to

00:27:44.920 --> 00:27:49.180
she rarely doesn't like to to ask for help or

00:27:49.180 --> 00:27:52.859
to you know cook with anybody like she's in her

00:27:52.859 --> 00:27:54.799
zone you know which I get because I'm the same

00:27:54.799 --> 00:27:59.380
way too but lately you know I don't want to say

00:27:59.380 --> 00:28:01.819
lately but like there's you know since I've known

00:28:01.819 --> 00:28:05.740
how to cook there's been times where you and

00:28:05.740 --> 00:28:09.240
I will we'll get together and and and we'll make

00:28:09.240 --> 00:28:16.119
um we'll make something like we make um we made

00:28:16.119 --> 00:28:19.140
pupusas one time and pupusas are like they're

00:28:19.140 --> 00:28:25.119
like a cornmeal like dough um patty and like

00:28:25.119 --> 00:28:28.759
you can fill it with like meat or beans and cheese

00:28:28.759 --> 00:28:32.920
or whatever you want it's Salvadorian I'm not

00:28:32.920 --> 00:28:35.759
I'm not from El Salvador I'm Mexican but you

00:28:35.759 --> 00:28:37.759
know we have a similar thing called gorditas

00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:42.200
where they're like a cornmeal um pocket and then

00:28:42.200 --> 00:28:44.460
like you open it and you fill it up with like

00:28:44.460 --> 00:28:50.180
beans cheese meat whatever you want um and my

00:28:50.180 --> 00:28:54.819
mom and I we made pupusas one time and we had

00:28:54.819 --> 00:28:58.839
so much fun just cooking together and I told

00:28:58.839 --> 00:29:00.380
her I'm like did you ever think we were gonna

00:29:00.380 --> 00:29:03.700
cook together and she's like yeah you know but

00:29:03.700 --> 00:29:07.759
cooking's in your blood so I mean your grandma

00:29:07.759 --> 00:29:10.759
was a good cook and you know me and your aunts

00:29:11.180 --> 00:29:14.240
you know are great in the kitchen so I can see

00:29:14.240 --> 00:29:17.440
where you get where you guys get it from and

00:29:17.440 --> 00:29:21.400
you know it was it was such a great time to just

00:29:21.400 --> 00:29:25.119
spend that quality time with my mom exactly not

00:29:25.119 --> 00:29:29.069
only that but like show I'll ask her for recipes

00:29:29.069 --> 00:29:32.430
and my mom doesn't write recipes down but in

00:29:32.430 --> 00:29:34.490
her head like she knows what she makes and I'm

00:29:34.490 --> 00:29:36.750
like I'm gonna need a recipe book before you

00:29:36.750 --> 00:29:41.009
die because girl I will not know how to replicate

00:29:41.009 --> 00:29:44.170
your cooking so I mean I have a recipe for her

00:29:44.170 --> 00:29:48.809
lasagna you know which is the craziest thing

00:29:48.809 --> 00:29:51.670
I can remember like I could do a recipe once

00:29:51.670 --> 00:29:56.299
and remember it Like, if I looked up a recipe

00:29:56.299 --> 00:30:00.079
how to, you know, I don't know, make, uh, what

00:30:00.079 --> 00:30:03.259
did you say they're called? Pupusas? yeah pupusas

00:30:03.259 --> 00:30:06.420
yeah if i found a recipe on how to make that

00:30:06.420 --> 00:30:09.019
like i would make it the first time by the recipe

00:30:09.019 --> 00:30:11.339
and then the next time i would make it you know

00:30:11.339 --> 00:30:13.839
of course i would you know tweak it and but like

00:30:13.839 --> 00:30:16.779
i would remember everything i'm like i've never

00:30:16.779 --> 00:30:20.640
understood like i absorbed the info and i don't

00:30:20.640 --> 00:30:23.460
even have to look again to try to make sure i'm

00:30:23.460 --> 00:30:26.589
following the recipe wow yeah I have to look

00:30:26.589 --> 00:30:28.710
a couple times and then after a while I'm like

00:30:28.710 --> 00:30:31.809
okay I know what I'm doing so like with one of

00:30:31.809 --> 00:30:36.809
those recipes um so uh growing up I I grew up

00:30:36.809 --> 00:30:41.450
with um you know Puerto Ricans and Cubans and

00:30:41.450 --> 00:30:47.549
so um of course like I I love the food so um

00:30:48.650 --> 00:30:51.230
One of the things I make is arroz con gandules,

00:30:51.369 --> 00:30:54.509
rice with pigeon peas. And that's Puerto Rican.

00:30:54.529 --> 00:30:59.349
And I can literally make that without looking

00:30:59.349 --> 00:31:04.269
at a recipe because I know how to, you know,

00:31:04.289 --> 00:31:10.210
all the ingredients now and what to do. So, I

00:31:10.210 --> 00:31:15.569
mean. Yeah, it's crazy. I remember so much. It

00:31:15.569 --> 00:31:18.500
was like. You don't even think or realize that

00:31:18.500 --> 00:31:20.859
you can remember all these things until you're

00:31:20.859 --> 00:31:25.420
in action and actually needing to do it. Right.

00:31:27.079 --> 00:31:31.680
Yeah, girl, I love cooking. Me too. And I actually

00:31:31.680 --> 00:31:34.859
love cooking with my son. He loves cooking. And

00:31:34.859 --> 00:31:37.980
I was actually, I thought he would be afraid

00:31:37.980 --> 00:31:41.599
of cooking on the stove because he's only seven.

00:31:42.599 --> 00:31:45.380
But because I've been cooking with him all his

00:31:45.380 --> 00:31:48.720
life, like, he is not afraid of the heat. He

00:31:48.720 --> 00:31:50.799
will get up there on his little chair. I used

00:31:50.799 --> 00:31:52.539
to have him a little stool, but now that he's

00:31:52.539 --> 00:31:55.420
tall, he don't need a stool anymore. But he will

00:31:55.420 --> 00:31:58.160
get up there. He knows how to cook eggs, scramble

00:31:58.160 --> 00:32:00.859
eggs, and all kinds of stuff because I've always

00:32:00.859 --> 00:32:05.079
had him helping me, making, you know. uh smoothies

00:32:05.079 --> 00:32:07.960
and just different things because I always wanted

00:32:07.960 --> 00:32:10.339
him to have that skill of knowing how to take

00:32:10.339 --> 00:32:15.339
care of himself um so my son is autistic oh wow

00:32:15.339 --> 00:32:18.900
yes he's autistic so he's considered what they

00:32:18.900 --> 00:32:23.180
consider high functioning yeah um but you know

00:32:23.180 --> 00:32:25.240
he does struggle with some different aspects

00:32:25.240 --> 00:32:29.059
of autism so I've always and this is before I

00:32:29.059 --> 00:32:33.630
knew um his diagnosis so I've always just wanted

00:32:33.630 --> 00:32:37.309
him to be independent you know just being a man

00:32:37.309 --> 00:32:39.930
you know growing up and becoming a man but the

00:32:39.930 --> 00:32:43.490
fact now that I know that he also you know has

00:32:43.490 --> 00:32:45.970
a disability I'm like it's even more important

00:32:45.970 --> 00:32:48.849
for me to make sure that he's independent and

00:32:48.849 --> 00:32:53.509
he can take care of himself right right yeah

00:32:53.509 --> 00:32:58.009
I you know neurodivergence is definitely uh uh

00:32:58.799 --> 00:33:03.240
a whole like different ball game you know than

00:33:03.240 --> 00:33:08.660
than blindness or you know I I mean I say this

00:33:08.660 --> 00:33:11.640
because I'm neurodivergent I don't have autism

00:33:11.640 --> 00:33:16.359
but I have ADHD so yes you know he also has ADHD

00:33:16.359 --> 00:33:20.779
as well along with some other uh and that's what

00:33:20.779 --> 00:33:22.859
a lot of people don't realize autism is actually

00:33:22.859 --> 00:33:26.500
an umbrella yeah so yeah it comes with a lot

00:33:26.500 --> 00:33:30.119
of other conditions as well. Right. And it's

00:33:30.119 --> 00:33:39.180
a spectrum too. Wow. Yeah, he has ADHD, separation

00:33:39.180 --> 00:33:46.220
anxiety disorder, and also ODD. And then he also

00:33:46.220 --> 00:33:51.220
has a PDA profile. But that's the hardest part

00:33:51.220 --> 00:33:54.099
of it because he's very combative, very, you

00:33:54.099 --> 00:33:58.859
know, just it's definitely a test of patience

00:33:58.859 --> 00:34:03.039
with dealing with him because he can be the happiest

00:34:03.039 --> 00:34:06.680
kid ever. And then in one split second, his mood

00:34:06.680 --> 00:34:11.320
is just gone, different. And it's just a matter

00:34:11.320 --> 00:34:13.239
of trying to figure out how to reach him, how

00:34:13.239 --> 00:34:15.860
to reach him. this tone of voice is it this tone

00:34:15.860 --> 00:34:17.679
of voice should i offer him this should i give

00:34:17.679 --> 00:34:20.619
him up you know it's just a it's a learning curve

00:34:20.619 --> 00:34:27.139
so yeah it's it's a lot no i i can't imagine

00:34:27.139 --> 00:34:32.159
but you know since he was three but he didn't

00:34:32.159 --> 00:34:37.280
officially get diagnosed until he was six so

00:34:37.280 --> 00:34:40.340
the past few months it's like more and more and

00:34:40.340 --> 00:34:43.260
more things i was like I've been advocating and

00:34:43.260 --> 00:34:45.400
pushing for him since he was three years old.

00:34:45.599 --> 00:34:48.440
He's had, you know, evaluation after evaluation.

00:34:48.619 --> 00:34:50.340
And I felt like, yeah, they always looked at

00:34:50.340 --> 00:34:51.880
me like I didn't know what I was talking about

00:34:51.880 --> 00:34:56.159
because I was blind. And I'm like, but I know.

00:34:56.820 --> 00:34:59.179
Nobody wants anything to be wrong with their

00:34:59.179 --> 00:35:02.760
child. Just like any parent, you know your child

00:35:02.760 --> 00:35:09.010
best. And you know what your child needs. you

00:35:09.010 --> 00:35:11.530
know, obviously, like, when it comes to the whole,

00:35:11.690 --> 00:35:17.489
like, blindness thing, because I see, you know,

00:35:17.530 --> 00:35:20.650
parents of blind children more, but, like, if

00:35:20.650 --> 00:35:23.110
you have a child with a disability in general,

00:35:23.210 --> 00:35:27.449
like, fight for them and advocate for them, because

00:35:27.449 --> 00:35:30.409
you are your child's advocate while they're young,

00:35:30.610 --> 00:35:34.650
and then as they grow. up and you show them how

00:35:34.650 --> 00:35:37.590
to advocate for themselves and they get it and

00:35:37.590 --> 00:35:40.369
they know what they need they're gonna be fine

00:35:40.369 --> 00:35:44.789
exactly and that was one thing my mom never did

00:35:44.789 --> 00:35:51.829
for me um and so yeah because yeah my becoming

00:35:51.829 --> 00:35:55.329
blind was due to her child abuse so she was the

00:35:55.329 --> 00:35:59.449
reason i became so even you know for me it was

00:35:59.449 --> 00:36:04.659
more so figure it out like I had to teach myself

00:36:04.659 --> 00:36:08.119
everything and learn like I always you know when

00:36:08.119 --> 00:36:11.900
I was younger I always kind of felt cheated that

00:36:11.900 --> 00:36:14.239
I never had a chance to go to like any other

00:36:14.239 --> 00:36:17.059
rehab centers or things like that because I have

00:36:17.059 --> 00:36:19.619
to figure everything out on my own I taught myself

00:36:19.619 --> 00:36:22.320
real I taught myself how to use a computer I

00:36:22.320 --> 00:36:24.579
taught myself how to cook and do laundry like

00:36:24.579 --> 00:36:28.360
I didn't have any of that formal training to

00:36:28.360 --> 00:36:31.099
learn those independent skills, I have to learn

00:36:31.099 --> 00:36:33.719
by trial and error. And so I was just like, I

00:36:33.719 --> 00:36:35.820
used to always feel some type of way when I would

00:36:35.820 --> 00:36:38.039
hear people talk about their experiences about,

00:36:38.099 --> 00:36:40.739
you know, how they learned this at the, you know,

00:36:40.739 --> 00:36:43.280
rehab center or they, I'm like, yeah, unfortunately

00:36:43.280 --> 00:36:46.550
I didn't. get that option I had to go to work

00:36:46.550 --> 00:36:50.469
like straight away because I had to take care

00:36:50.469 --> 00:36:53.289
of myself I didn't have the option to be at a

00:36:53.289 --> 00:36:55.889
center for you know a year or anything like that

00:36:55.889 --> 00:37:00.730
I had to go from being homeless to working so

00:37:00.730 --> 00:37:03.489
that I could support myself wow but you know

00:37:03.489 --> 00:37:08.730
what though honestly all power to you because

00:37:08.730 --> 00:37:16.940
you you know came through it and look at where

00:37:16.940 --> 00:37:19.880
you're at now like that's commendable that is

00:37:19.880 --> 00:37:24.280
so commendable because I can only imagine it's

00:37:24.280 --> 00:37:30.239
you know probably hard for a lot of people to

00:37:30.239 --> 00:37:35.159
just to do what you had to do you were like okay

00:37:35.159 --> 00:37:38.849
I can't be in this predicament i need to learn

00:37:38.849 --> 00:37:41.210
how i'm gonna help myself when other people might

00:37:41.210 --> 00:37:43.929
just crumble and just be like i can't do this

00:37:43.929 --> 00:37:47.150
you know exactly and i had those moments but

00:37:47.150 --> 00:37:49.289
you know what i was like at the end of the day

00:37:49.289 --> 00:37:52.110
i only have myself to depend on i have no parents

00:37:52.110 --> 00:37:55.670
no family no friend nobody that can support me

00:37:55.670 --> 00:37:59.230
so i have to be that motivation for myself and

00:37:59.230 --> 00:38:02.969
that's what i did so that's why now i choose

00:38:02.969 --> 00:38:06.400
to help other people so that they don't have

00:38:06.400 --> 00:38:08.179
to go through what I went through. They don't

00:38:08.179 --> 00:38:10.480
have to learn by trial and error. They don't

00:38:10.480 --> 00:38:12.900
have to, you know, try to figure it out because

00:38:12.900 --> 00:38:16.159
I literally had to figure out losing my sight

00:38:16.159 --> 00:38:19.300
on my own. Like I was literally in a house with

00:38:19.300 --> 00:38:21.099
people that didn't believe I couldn't see. They

00:38:21.099 --> 00:38:23.219
would laugh at me. They would, you know, purposely

00:38:23.219 --> 00:38:28.260
do things to me knowing that I couldn't see.

00:38:28.840 --> 00:38:32.099
And so I had to deal with that and live just

00:38:32.099 --> 00:38:35.260
new reality for me at 15 years old on my own.

00:38:35.320 --> 00:38:38.480
There was no support. There was nobody to talk

00:38:38.480 --> 00:38:44.219
to. Nothing. Wow. Well, that is so commendable.

00:38:44.280 --> 00:38:51.199
And honestly, like, be proud. Oh, yeah. Be proud

00:38:51.199 --> 00:38:54.920
of where you are because you overcame that. Like,

00:38:54.920 --> 00:38:57.500
you overcame that. And, you know, of course,

00:38:58.699 --> 00:39:00.840
you had your moments obviously it wasn't going

00:39:00.840 --> 00:39:03.719
to be like oh it'll be fine like no of course

00:39:03.719 --> 00:39:06.760
you know you were of course you were scared of

00:39:06.760 --> 00:39:09.539
course you you know might have had doubts you

00:39:09.539 --> 00:39:13.139
might have been uncertain you know and and had

00:39:13.139 --> 00:39:17.340
your your your low moments but you came up you

00:39:17.340 --> 00:39:20.960
know you came up on top yes definitely and that's

00:39:20.960 --> 00:39:25.159
something that that you should just you know

00:39:25.159 --> 00:39:31.340
always be be proud of that because you know a

00:39:31.340 --> 00:39:34.820
lot of people could have just given up and said

00:39:34.820 --> 00:39:38.760
this is the end I'm done exactly and that's why

00:39:38.760 --> 00:39:41.619
I strive to make sure yeah my son has the skills

00:39:41.619 --> 00:39:43.980
that he needs because I don't want him to go

00:39:43.980 --> 00:39:47.019
out here and have to you know of course his disability

00:39:47.019 --> 00:39:50.039
is different and it's not visible he's not visibly

00:39:50.039 --> 00:39:53.659
just you know disabled so people won't know And

00:39:53.659 --> 00:39:56.539
that's my fear as well for him. It's just, yeah,

00:39:56.579 --> 00:40:00.559
people not knowing what he has going on, automatically

00:40:00.559 --> 00:40:04.139
assuming things about him to where it hurt or

00:40:04.139 --> 00:40:07.880
anything else. Right. That's my biggest fear

00:40:07.880 --> 00:40:11.460
is. Yeah. And so I want him to learn what he

00:40:11.460 --> 00:40:13.719
needs to do and how to take care of himself.

00:40:14.099 --> 00:40:18.250
So he's not dependent on anybody else. Because

00:40:18.250 --> 00:40:20.630
I'm like, he has only me. Like if something were

00:40:20.630 --> 00:40:23.110
to happen to me in this world today, he would

00:40:23.110 --> 00:40:27.349
have no one. I'm his only person. Like his dad's

00:40:27.349 --> 00:40:31.530
not in the picture. So I'm a single mom. There's

00:40:31.530 --> 00:40:37.010
no family. There's nobody. There's just me. And

00:40:37.010 --> 00:40:39.190
it's basically the same thing I went through.

00:40:39.230 --> 00:40:48.630
I had absolutely nobody but myself. so well you

00:40:48.630 --> 00:40:53.510
are doing amazing honestly like i commend you

00:40:53.510 --> 00:40:56.230
you know for like everything that everything

00:40:56.230 --> 00:40:58.570
that you've got going on and like you're you

00:40:58.570 --> 00:41:00.610
know you're a single mom raising your son and

00:41:00.610 --> 00:41:04.730
that that's not easy no you know that's not easy

00:41:04.730 --> 00:41:08.969
and then pat blindness on top and they're all

00:41:08.969 --> 00:41:12.750
talking his disability yes that's not easy either

00:41:12.750 --> 00:41:15.960
none of it is and look at you like you're you

00:41:15.960 --> 00:41:19.039
know striving you're you're thriving you're doing

00:41:19.039 --> 00:41:22.880
what you have to do for him and you exactly and

00:41:22.880 --> 00:41:25.360
that's the point of this platform that's what

00:41:25.360 --> 00:41:28.880
bff empowerment podcast is here for for people

00:41:28.880 --> 00:41:32.039
to hear stories like mine like yours like everyone

00:41:32.039 --> 00:41:35.849
else so that they can see That despite whatever

00:41:35.849 --> 00:41:39.510
circumstances, challenges, obstacles, you know,

00:41:39.510 --> 00:41:42.210
whatever barriers you may have, that there are

00:41:42.210 --> 00:41:44.690
people out here who do overcome them. So there

00:41:44.690 --> 00:41:48.690
is a chance for you to do the same. Yes, of course.

00:41:48.809 --> 00:41:52.690
And let me tell you, you know, job searching

00:41:52.690 --> 00:41:57.329
when you're blind is hard. I went through it.

00:41:57.789 --> 00:42:00.650
I went through it like I had, sure, a couple

00:42:00.650 --> 00:42:03.889
of temporary jobs here and there, you know, you

00:42:03.889 --> 00:42:06.969
know, working with VR and things like that. And

00:42:06.969 --> 00:42:09.750
then, you know, I had a job for eight months,

00:42:09.789 --> 00:42:12.769
but I got furloughed because the company wasn't

00:42:12.769 --> 00:42:17.789
doing well. And it was a sad situation. And then

00:42:17.789 --> 00:42:20.769
I had a job with, you know, a nonprofit where

00:42:20.769 --> 00:42:24.650
I worked. And helped them develop a podcast about

00:42:24.650 --> 00:42:28.389
universal design and did that for a little bit.

00:42:28.489 --> 00:42:31.030
And now I have my current job, which, you know,

00:42:31.130 --> 00:42:37.869
I was six months, you know, without a job and

00:42:37.869 --> 00:42:40.610
I was looking for a job. And I remember saying

00:42:40.610 --> 00:42:44.570
out loud to myself, like, it would be great if

00:42:44.570 --> 00:42:48.610
I got a job before the holidays. And then I was

00:42:48.610 --> 00:42:51.869
looking on Indeed and I found this job. on my

00:42:51.869 --> 00:42:56.409
own um because VR had already closed my case

00:42:56.409 --> 00:42:59.630
because they're like oh you know because back

00:42:59.630 --> 00:43:01.530
when I had my other job I was like oh but you

00:43:01.530 --> 00:43:04.750
found a job so you're successful we should close

00:43:04.750 --> 00:43:07.409
the case and I was like all right I don't think

00:43:07.409 --> 00:43:13.489
I'm done yet but okay whatever yes they do uh

00:43:13.489 --> 00:43:19.619
-huh they do they sure do and then um I applied

00:43:19.619 --> 00:43:23.280
for this job. I got interviewed. And then she

00:43:23.280 --> 00:43:26.639
was like, OK, if I like you, I'll invite you

00:43:26.639 --> 00:43:28.960
to another interview. She invited me to another

00:43:28.960 --> 00:43:30.820
interview to assess my skills. And she's like,

00:43:30.940 --> 00:43:34.059
I want you. Welcome to the team. I've been with

00:43:34.059 --> 00:43:36.900
her ever since. You know, I'm three months in.

00:43:37.000 --> 00:43:39.760
I love my job. It's a lot of work, a lot to learn

00:43:39.760 --> 00:43:44.239
because I'm doing administrative work. You know,

00:43:44.239 --> 00:43:48.079
and the clients who are children have medical

00:43:48.079 --> 00:43:51.239
cases and stuff like that. And, you know, that's

00:43:51.239 --> 00:43:55.420
a big thing that I've never done that type of

00:43:55.420 --> 00:43:58.900
work before. Like I've done administrative work,

00:43:58.960 --> 00:44:01.900
but I was doing it for a marketing company. And

00:44:01.900 --> 00:44:06.699
when I got my first administrative job in 2013,

00:44:06.940 --> 00:44:09.699
I was doing it for a graphic design company,

00:44:09.800 --> 00:44:13.150
which, you know. Of course, you're filing and

00:44:13.150 --> 00:44:19.309
handling paperwork and stuff, but it's different.

00:44:20.670 --> 00:44:26.349
And every boss likes things a certain way. But

00:44:26.349 --> 00:44:30.650
I love my job. I'm so thankful. I'm grateful

00:44:30.650 --> 00:44:36.340
for it because, you know. I had times where it

00:44:36.340 --> 00:44:39.780
was hard. They don't want us. Exactly. I remember

00:44:39.780 --> 00:44:43.679
being rejected from interviews and being depressed,

00:44:43.820 --> 00:44:46.159
even though I never told anybody I was depressed.

00:44:46.840 --> 00:44:50.079
I actually did an episode last year about discrimination

00:44:50.079 --> 00:44:54.380
in plain sight. And it was basically my experience

00:44:54.380 --> 00:44:59.460
with basically being offered a job. the job taken

00:44:59.460 --> 00:45:02.139
back once they found out i was blind and so i

00:45:02.139 --> 00:45:05.820
had to go through that whole eeoc thing and and

00:45:05.820 --> 00:45:10.400
just then begrudgingly they gave me the job but

00:45:10.400 --> 00:45:13.559
then they treated me like i was you know leftovers

00:45:13.559 --> 00:45:16.099
on the bottom of their shoes so i was like put

00:45:16.099 --> 00:45:18.739
in the back of the room by myself nobody talked

00:45:18.739 --> 00:45:21.320
to me nobody it was like okay well we gave you

00:45:21.320 --> 00:45:24.320
the job back here you should be happy But in

00:45:24.320 --> 00:45:25.840
the meantime, we're going to make sure you're

00:45:25.840 --> 00:45:30.000
miserable. You know? And then I ended up just

00:45:30.000 --> 00:45:33.340
leaving because I'm like, this is not good for

00:45:33.340 --> 00:45:36.840
my mental health. No! You need to work somewhere

00:45:36.840 --> 00:45:39.179
where you feel happy, where you feel a part of

00:45:39.179 --> 00:45:42.400
the team, where you feel accepted. Thankfully,

00:45:42.500 --> 00:45:46.360
every job I've had, I've felt accepted and I've

00:45:46.360 --> 00:45:51.000
felt happy. But, you know, with this job, you

00:45:51.000 --> 00:45:54.360
know, I... have Draco, and they're like, oh,

00:45:54.380 --> 00:45:56.239
Draco's a part of the team, because he's a part

00:45:56.239 --> 00:45:59.659
of you, like, they love him, and, you know, and

00:45:59.659 --> 00:46:02.980
that makes me feel good, you know, that he's

00:46:02.980 --> 00:46:06.320
also accepted, and, you know, that they think

00:46:06.320 --> 00:46:12.260
of him as a part of the team, and I'm just so,

00:46:12.400 --> 00:46:16.300
so blessed, I'm lucky, because it's hard out

00:46:16.300 --> 00:46:20.840
here, it's hard out here to find a job, and,

00:46:20.920 --> 00:46:26.340
you know, we we're not the only ones so slim

00:46:26.340 --> 00:46:28.739
you know they either want to offer you customer

00:46:28.739 --> 00:46:33.000
service working at a blindness facility like

00:46:33.000 --> 00:46:36.019
lighthouse or industries of the blind or something

00:46:36.019 --> 00:46:39.159
like that or working in some kind of disability

00:46:39.159 --> 00:46:43.000
related field like that's really kind of all

00:46:43.000 --> 00:46:47.159
the options are for us girl yes and i remember

00:46:47.159 --> 00:46:50.380
when i was job searching right like i had people

00:46:50.380 --> 00:46:53.440
tell me oh would you ever come and do an internship

00:46:53.440 --> 00:46:56.739
at a training center maybe you can be you know

00:46:56.739 --> 00:47:00.699
um like you can teach accessibility and I'm like

00:47:00.699 --> 00:47:04.559
that's not what I want you know or like I've

00:47:04.559 --> 00:47:07.179
had people like oh would you work at like industries

00:47:07.179 --> 00:47:10.880
for the blind like no I don't like I didn't want

00:47:10.880 --> 00:47:13.360
I didn't want to work in the blindness field

00:47:13.360 --> 00:47:16.739
like I didn't want to do it not because I don't

00:47:16.739 --> 00:47:21.989
care like I i this is the life i live this is

00:47:21.989 --> 00:47:26.130
the the cards i was dealt with and i love advocating

00:47:26.130 --> 00:47:30.789
i love educating but but it's not it's not for

00:47:30.789 --> 00:47:34.090
me like i don't right i don't want to live in

00:47:34.090 --> 00:47:37.030
in i don't want to be in in quote -unquote blind

00:47:37.030 --> 00:47:43.289
world you know every day so you know i was like

00:47:43.289 --> 00:47:45.769
that's not for me that's not what i want and

00:47:45.769 --> 00:47:48.909
i'm glad I'm so glad that I landed the job that

00:47:48.909 --> 00:47:54.710
I landed on. I'm lucky because it's hard because

00:47:54.710 --> 00:47:58.349
they don't want to hire us. No matter how much

00:47:58.349 --> 00:48:01.289
skills, education, no matter what experience

00:48:01.289 --> 00:48:03.829
that you have, it's just you coming in there

00:48:03.829 --> 00:48:07.349
with a cane or a dog, that's it. Or a wheelchair.

00:48:07.570 --> 00:48:10.789
It's just like anybody with a disability. It's

00:48:10.789 --> 00:48:13.170
not just blind people. It's everybody with a

00:48:13.170 --> 00:48:17.550
disability. And next to that, it's felons that

00:48:17.550 --> 00:48:20.670
have a hard time getting a job. I can't remember

00:48:20.670 --> 00:48:26.570
where, if it was a podcast or where I heard it,

00:48:26.650 --> 00:48:30.630
but they were like next to us, you know, people

00:48:30.630 --> 00:48:34.670
with disabilities not being able to find jobs.

00:48:34.690 --> 00:48:36.769
And we're the people that actually want to work.

00:48:37.090 --> 00:48:40.309
Yes. That's the crazy part. Yes, not only that,

00:48:40.349 --> 00:48:42.190
and you have some felons that are trying to rebuild

00:48:42.190 --> 00:48:46.300
their life too. you know it's just like give

00:48:46.300 --> 00:48:50.920
us a chance like i remember when covid hit and

00:48:50.920 --> 00:48:53.340
all of that and then all of a sudden amazon opened

00:48:53.340 --> 00:48:55.639
their doors and fedex opened their doors and

00:48:55.639 --> 00:48:58.059
wanted to hire blind people but that was only

00:48:58.059 --> 00:49:00.179
because people who weren't blind didn't want

00:49:00.179 --> 00:49:03.139
to work right then we were good enough to hire

00:49:03.139 --> 00:49:07.059
them because nobody was like okay now we're good

00:49:07.059 --> 00:49:11.460
because we actually want to do the work and side

00:49:11.460 --> 00:49:14.820
of people don't want to work yeah they wanted

00:49:14.820 --> 00:49:17.380
to be in the house hiding from covid so like

00:49:17.380 --> 00:49:19.880
okay you know what we need these jobs done look

00:49:19.880 --> 00:49:25.519
blind people here you're hired outside of that

00:49:25.519 --> 00:49:27.159
y 'all would have never given us the time of

00:49:27.159 --> 00:49:29.880
day but you had nobody wanting to do the work

00:49:29.880 --> 00:49:33.840
right and someone's got to do it someone's got

00:49:33.840 --> 00:49:40.500
to do it but yeah definitely yeah anything else

00:49:40.500 --> 00:49:43.219
you would like to add um anything you would like

00:49:43.219 --> 00:49:50.800
to leave listeners with I'd say just um if you

00:49:50.800 --> 00:49:55.780
have a passion if you have a dream do it don't

00:49:55.780 --> 00:49:58.380
just talk about it because then you're just gonna

00:49:58.380 --> 00:50:01.320
regret it and you're gonna think oh I wish I

00:50:01.320 --> 00:50:03.659
could have done this I you know I should have

00:50:03.659 --> 00:50:07.579
done that you know like I have a podcast. That's

00:50:07.579 --> 00:50:09.579
my baby. I'm still trying to learn how to grow

00:50:09.579 --> 00:50:13.219
because, you know, I want to see it grow up.

00:50:13.340 --> 00:50:16.159
I don't know. I've only been doing this for a

00:50:16.159 --> 00:50:18.679
little over a year, so I'm still definitely in

00:50:18.679 --> 00:50:21.840
the infancy stage of podcasting. Girl, I've been

00:50:21.840 --> 00:50:25.199
in this for eight years and I'm still trying

00:50:25.199 --> 00:50:27.500
to figure out what the hell I'm doing, but I'm

00:50:27.500 --> 00:50:30.840
here. I'm also on TikTok and I'm trying to figure

00:50:30.840 --> 00:50:33.820
out like. you know trying to post content even

00:50:33.820 --> 00:50:38.340
if it's like something random but you know find

00:50:38.340 --> 00:50:42.840
me on tiktok blindly fierce find me uh on apple

00:50:42.840 --> 00:50:45.099
or wherever you listen to podcasts this is what

00:50:45.099 --> 00:50:48.860
blind looks like uh i run a podcast with my co

00:50:48.860 --> 00:50:54.800
-hosts about uh blindness um but uh oh man maybe

00:50:54.800 --> 00:50:57.639
you were gonna do that at the end but yeah just

00:50:57.639 --> 00:51:03.400
uh don't you are fine don't give up on your dreams

00:51:03.400 --> 00:51:05.699
because you never know where they're gonna take

00:51:05.699 --> 00:51:09.960
you and manifest manifest something that you

00:51:09.960 --> 00:51:15.800
really want because it'll come true I speak from

00:51:15.800 --> 00:51:18.260
experience I there were things in my life that

00:51:18.260 --> 00:51:22.400
I manifested my guide dog was one of them Oh,

00:51:22.420 --> 00:51:26.139
wow. And my job. I mean, the guide dog is definitely

00:51:26.139 --> 00:51:29.039
like, I don't know, that could be a story for

00:51:29.039 --> 00:51:32.420
another day if you want. But yeah, he's not from

00:51:32.420 --> 00:51:37.000
a program. He's privately trained. And I manifested

00:51:37.000 --> 00:51:39.860
him. I manifested what I wanted. I remember saying,

00:51:40.000 --> 00:51:42.780
well, I'm going to get a black lab because I

00:51:42.780 --> 00:51:45.900
was looking at dog breeds. And, you know, people

00:51:45.900 --> 00:51:47.320
are like, oh, you should get a lab. It's your

00:51:47.320 --> 00:51:50.300
first dog, you know, whatever. Like labs are,

00:51:50.380 --> 00:51:53.280
quote unquote. trainable and biddable and all

00:51:53.280 --> 00:51:56.780
these things. And I was like, OK, I really want

00:51:56.780 --> 00:51:59.619
to live. But if I do, I'll get a black one because

00:51:59.619 --> 00:52:03.380
black is sleek, black is sexy. You know, I really

00:52:03.380 --> 00:52:06.139
want a boy. I've never had a boy. I want a boy.

00:52:06.199 --> 00:52:08.780
You know, I want a baby boy. And I was like,

00:52:08.860 --> 00:52:12.760
I have this long list of puppy names and Draco

00:52:12.760 --> 00:52:16.900
just. Sucks to me. I'm like, don't tell me you're

00:52:16.900 --> 00:52:19.860
a fan of Harry Potter. No, honestly, look, I

00:52:19.860 --> 00:52:23.139
didn't name him because of Harry Potter. Everyone

00:52:23.139 --> 00:52:25.179
asks me that. They're like, did you name him

00:52:25.179 --> 00:52:30.440
after Draco Malfoy? And I'm like, no. No, I named

00:52:30.440 --> 00:52:35.579
him after the constellation in the sky, Draco

00:52:35.579 --> 00:52:38.760
the Dragon. Oh, okay. That's what I named him

00:52:38.760 --> 00:52:43.460
after. And that's how Draco Malfoy got his name.

00:52:43.880 --> 00:52:47.340
Um, fun fact. I mean, I, I do, I do like Harry

00:52:47.340 --> 00:52:49.159
Potter. I like the books. The movies are great,

00:52:49.199 --> 00:52:52.179
but I'm not like a massive fan, you know, but,

00:52:52.320 --> 00:52:58.079
um, I named him Draco and it, it sucks to me.

00:52:58.139 --> 00:53:00.500
I'm like, for some reason, like, I just couldn't

00:53:00.500 --> 00:53:05.780
let go, like, let it go. And so when we picked

00:53:05.780 --> 00:53:08.039
him up and we evaluated him and his brother,

00:53:08.099 --> 00:53:11.719
and he was the one that popped out and, you know,

00:53:13.420 --> 00:53:19.340
The one I took home, I was like, okay, you're

00:53:19.340 --> 00:53:26.480
Draco. And it stuck. Like, he lives up to his

00:53:26.480 --> 00:53:29.760
name. Like, he's not mean like Draco Malfoy,

00:53:29.800 --> 00:53:36.519
but he's so spoiled. He thinks every plushie

00:53:36.519 --> 00:53:40.760
in the world belongs to him. Oh, wow. Yeah, he's

00:53:40.760 --> 00:53:49.059
a spoiled boy. Oh, wow. Yeah, but he's great.

00:53:49.219 --> 00:53:54.980
I love him to pieces. But yeah, if you want to

00:53:54.980 --> 00:53:59.000
manifest something, you just say it out loud.

00:53:59.860 --> 00:54:02.179
Definitely. And you never know what's going to

00:54:02.179 --> 00:54:10.599
happen. Manifestation is real. Yes, ma 'am. Well,

00:54:10.739 --> 00:54:13.900
all right. We have come to my favorite part of

00:54:13.900 --> 00:54:16.260
the show where we play What Is She Thinking?

00:54:16.800 --> 00:54:19.940
So I am going to give you five random phrases.

00:54:20.119 --> 00:54:21.519
You're going to tell me the first thing that

00:54:21.519 --> 00:54:23.480
comes to your mind. Don't have to think too hard

00:54:23.480 --> 00:54:25.820
about it. Just something fun to get to know you

00:54:25.820 --> 00:54:41.519
after a great conversation. All right, so your

00:54:41.519 --> 00:54:47.659
first one is, see, what is one misconception

00:54:47.659 --> 00:54:59.699
that society have about blind people? One misconception.

00:55:01.840 --> 00:55:04.199
Do I say it in a sentence or do I say the word?

00:55:04.840 --> 00:55:09.219
You can say it in a sentence. I'd say that. One

00:55:09.219 --> 00:55:14.280
misconception is that we can't do anything on

00:55:14.280 --> 00:55:21.679
our own. Okay. I agree. Alright, so your next

00:55:21.679 --> 00:55:25.960
one is going to be you can't have fried chicken

00:55:25.960 --> 00:55:33.880
without mashed potatoes. I love me some mashed

00:55:33.880 --> 00:55:38.900
potatoes. Or mac and cheese, honestly. Yeah,

00:55:38.900 --> 00:55:43.039
some baked mac and cheese. Yes, ma 'am. Both

00:55:43.039 --> 00:55:46.139
hit. And the mashed potatoes have to be from

00:55:46.139 --> 00:55:48.159
scratch too. I hate instant mashed potatoes.

00:55:50.619 --> 00:55:52.780
Alright, so your next one is going to be what

00:55:52.780 --> 00:55:58.920
does empowerment mean to you? Empowerment to

00:55:58.920 --> 00:56:11.679
me means not Giving up, especially when things

00:56:11.679 --> 00:56:19.179
feel unattainable. Okay, I like it. Your next

00:56:19.179 --> 00:56:21.900
one is going to be, what is your favorite flower?

00:56:23.639 --> 00:56:27.219
Oh, this one's easy. I love orchids. Orchids.

00:56:28.219 --> 00:56:32.980
I think they're beautiful. And the last one is

00:56:32.980 --> 00:56:35.840
going to be, who is one person that inspires

00:56:35.840 --> 00:56:42.820
you? Oh, my God. One person that inspires me.

00:56:46.280 --> 00:56:54.019
Oh, man. Do they have to be like someone you

00:56:54.019 --> 00:57:03.659
know? No. Oh, my God. There's so many people

00:57:03.659 --> 00:57:15.570
in my life. I'd say the person that. really inspired

00:57:15.570 --> 00:57:21.250
me. I mean, she's no longer here, but I'm going

00:57:21.250 --> 00:57:27.269
to say my grandmother. Okay. Because she came

00:57:27.269 --> 00:57:32.769
to this country and worked really hard, you know,

00:57:32.769 --> 00:57:40.849
to provide for her family and to always help

00:57:40.849 --> 00:57:46.090
her family with whatever. they needed and you

00:57:46.090 --> 00:57:51.230
know she's the reason why you know my mom and

00:57:51.230 --> 00:57:57.769
her sisters are here so yeah and she you know

00:57:57.769 --> 00:58:00.550
she was always a hustler always working hard

00:58:00.550 --> 00:58:04.130
like if she didn't you know if she wasn't cooking

00:58:04.130 --> 00:58:08.070
food you know and selling it she was you know

00:58:08.070 --> 00:58:13.010
a seamstress and making dresses and oh wow and

00:58:13.010 --> 00:58:15.829
selling them so I mean yeah she was a hustler

00:58:15.829 --> 00:58:19.050
like a hustler and then she's the reason why

00:58:19.050 --> 00:58:22.369
my mom and her sisters know how to hustle you

00:58:22.369 --> 00:58:26.949
know and you know I come from a family of of

00:58:26.949 --> 00:58:34.710
hard workers um and you know why I that's why

00:58:34.710 --> 00:58:37.710
that's where I get my tenacity from is not giving

00:58:37.710 --> 00:58:41.349
up it's because of that yeah you know I saw I

00:58:41.349 --> 00:58:46.099
saw my my my family just you know doing whatever

00:58:46.099 --> 00:58:50.820
they needed to do to to survive to feed their

00:58:50.820 --> 00:58:55.219
families you know and and that's you know even

00:58:55.219 --> 00:58:59.579
when when job hunting for me was like rough and

00:58:59.579 --> 00:59:03.219
I you know the times when I wanted to give up

00:59:03.219 --> 00:59:07.300
I was like no I gotta keep going I'm gonna find

00:59:07.300 --> 00:59:12.619
something but I gotta keep it up exactly so Yeah.

00:59:14.030 --> 00:59:16.809
Well, all right. Well, thank you so much, everyone,

00:59:16.809 --> 00:59:19.409
for listening to the BFF Empowerment Podcast.

00:59:20.130 --> 00:59:24.250
Don't forget to visit our website at bffempowermentpodcast

00:59:24.250 --> 00:59:27.230
.com to keep up to date with the latest and greatest

00:59:27.230 --> 00:59:31.309
happenings going on in the podcast. Also, check

00:59:31.309 --> 00:59:36.369
out our blog to read articles based on each episode.

00:59:36.570 --> 00:59:40.969
You can also follow us on all social media. We

00:59:40.969 --> 00:59:45.349
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00:59:45.949 --> 00:59:50.210
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00:59:50.750 --> 00:59:54.130
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00:59:54.130 --> 00:59:57.449
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00:59:57.449 --> 01:00:00.849
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01:00:00.849 --> 01:00:03.670
Podcast. If you would like to be a guest on the

01:00:03.670 --> 01:00:06.489
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01:00:06.489 --> 01:00:09.769
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01:00:09.769 --> 01:00:13.440
.com. And until next time, everyone, thank you

01:00:13.440 --> 01:00:43.710
so much for listening. Thank you.