Reflections on YouTube Ambitions

After anticipating meeting with my family for over a month, a sense of relief calmed my nerves when Michelle arrived in Jenkins Lot. Still slightly antsy following the near-cancellation of the filming session, I politely greeted my host and welcomed her to the Evergreen Campus, careful not to reveal my inner disappointment. Ofek’s wheelchair van was stuck in the shop, leaving Ofek inescapably stuck at home. My hopes of meeting the inspiration for my advocacy were stalled, but the project pushed forward. While typically uncomfortable with diverting from a plan, I felt at ease in Michelle’s presence, and seeing her there, only feet from me, put the humanity of the work I had been doing in vividly clear perspective. Unlike previous schooling, I could finally see what (and who) I was working for.

It was only after I packed my bags and walked back to Flannery that I was struck by how transformative, yet brief, the video shoot was. The image of Michelle that I had in my head during all of our phone calls was disproven the second she exited her blue Toyota Camry. Her appearance was not what surprised me, but rather the intensity that she exuded in preparation of taking action for a cause that I could immediately tell meant everything to her. Like a trial lawyer ready to defend her client, Michelle came prepared with documents, pictures, and plenty of stories. Unlike a trial lawyer, however, was her impossibly intense passion for the cause, a trait that can only be traced back to the inseparable bond between mother and child. Although I have put more effort than I ever imagined into ending the Waiting List, I could not help but to absorb some of Michelle’s enthusiasm for the video. Alternatively, I also witnessed firsthand the tired desperation, even frustration, of trying to fight for a cause near to one’s heart without much measurable success. I now feel the weight of the situation and for the first time, the grade I am striving for is far less important than what my family thinks of the project. Failure is not an option now, and to say that I am not intimidated would be a lie. Even so, working with Michelle gave me the final push to work on ending the Waiting List for all the right reasons.

Much like the Founding Fathers of the United States that Douglass references in his speech, everyone that works on the Waiting List Campaign or to fight for people with developmental disabilities prefers “revolution to peaceful submission to bondage” (Douglass). Even though those with developmental disabilities are not literally shackled, they are held hostage by policies that enslave their potential. Everyone working on this project, from the Arc of Maryland and families on the Waiting List down to our writing class, believes and has shown that they, too, believe in “revolution” rather than submission. As many argued in the fight to end slavery and later in the civil rights movement, inactivity is often the greatest tragedy of all. We will continue to prove the injustice of the situation to those unaware of the “movement” and fight to protect the rights of our neighbors in need.

-Matt M.