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This is a very, very tiny thing in the scope of All The Things today — but in reading about the incredible poet @TheAmandaGorman I learned that she and I share a similar diagnosis of an auditory processing disorder and sensitivity to sound. 1/7
We both were diagnosed in elementary school, and both struggled to accept the accommodations that we needed as we adjusted to what it meant to have a disability while simultaneously having a deep love for words and for stories. 2/7
I’ve never spoken publicly about this. But reading about this brilliant woman who performed for us today in all her glory, and knowing that she shares this small thing with me, I felt unbelievably proud of her — and grateful that she’d made this part of her story public. 3/7
I think it’s interesting that she and I have both made language central to our careers. In an interview with the LA Times last week, she said, "I don’t look at my disability as a weakness...it’s made me the performer that I am and the storyteller that I strive to be." 4/7
I hope all the little kids who love to read and love to write and who face similar challenges see themselves in her greatness and know how bright and important their futures can and will be. 5/7
Also! She's running for president in 2036. In that same article in the LA Times she said that seeing Kamala Harris -- the first Black, South Asian woman to be VP -- elected put new energy into that plan. Representation really matters. 6/7
And if you somehow missed it, you can watch her stunning poem (and feel jealous of her beautiful coat) here: 7/7
