5: Connecting at Summer Camp for People with Disabilities with Emma Kobelsky

08/10/21 • 34 min

Emma Kobelsky works as a camp counsellor at Between Friends, which is an organization that provides social, recreational, and development opportunities for people with disabilities. We explore how this provides an important space for connections, and how summer camp has motivated her to pursue a career in Occupational Therapy. Emma and I also happen to share the same personality type, and we chat about how being introverted shapes the type of connections we seek out.

Highlights & Takeaways

How Between Friends offers a space where everyone feels like they belong and aren’t excluded because of their disability
The usage of person-first language (“a person with a disability” or “a person with autism”) contrasted with people who want to self-identify as a disabled creator or autistic person
What an Occupational Therapist does
The Myers-Briggs Personality Test and how we’re both INFPs
What a high-quality connection looks and feels like

Resources Mentioned

Contact Emma: Instagram
Between Friends

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Music by Meghan Rennie - Instagram / Soundcloud

Website: excusestoconnect.com

Email: [email protected]

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Highlights & Takeaways

How Between Friends offers a space where everyone feels like they belong and aren’t excluded because of their disability
The usage of person-first language (“a person with a disability” or “a person with autism”) contrasted with people who want to self-identify as a disabled creator or autistic person
What an Occupational Therapist does
The Myers-Briggs Personality Test and how we’re both INFPs
What a high-quality connection looks and feels like

Resources Mentioned

Contact Emma: Instagram
Between Friends

______

Enjoyed this episode? Share it with a friend and make sure to follow Excuses to Connect on Facebook and Instagram.

Music by Meghan Rennie - Instagram / Soundcloud

Website: excusestoconnect.com

Email: [email protected]

Leave a Voice Message: https://www.speakpipe.com/excusestoconnectSupport Me: Buy Me A Coffee

Previous Episode

4: Building Communities for Connection and Social Justice with Steven Ngo

Steven Ngo is a musician, social entrepreneur, and lawyer. When I think of all the people I know, he is the prime example of a connector. Wherever he goes, he has the ability to create communities of like-minded individuals. This includes hosting events for people to have conversations on deeper topics like self-worth and vulnerability, connecting musicians to perform music at hospitals and elderly care homes, and giving back through the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers. Most recently, Steven has been leading a movement to make reporting hate crimes more accessible after he experienced an Anti-Asian hate crime in Vancouver back in April 2021. This episode explores connections in the context of developing new relationships, but also leveraging connections to advance social justice.

Highlights & Takeaways

How he started inviting friends over to his living room for deep conversations
Letting go of our comparisons to others and challenging our perceptions around connections
The formula to building connections in new places and around your interests
The three buckets theory of social movements: champions, fence-sitters, and haters
Approaching social justice with love and kindness rather than anger

Resources Mentioned

______

Enjoyed this episode? Share it with a friend and make sure to follow Excuses to Connect on Facebook and Instagram.

Music by Meghan Rennie - Instagram / Soundcloud

Website: excusestoconnect.com

Email: [email protected]

Leave a Voice Message: https://www.speakpipe.com/excusestoconnect

Support Me: Buy Me A Coffee

Next Episode

6: “You’re Not Alone” - How a Clothing Company is Raising Awareness on Mental Health with Adam Edery

Adam Edery is the Community Manager for Seek Discomfort, which is a clothing company. What does a clothing company have to do with connections? Everything! Seek Discomfort was the clothing company started by Yes Theory, a YouTube channel all about going outside of your comfort zone and enjoying life to the fullest. Adam and I chat about this amazing community, and about one of their recent clothing drops, titled You’re Not Alone. The campaign aimed to promote more awareness around mental health and reminding people that they’re not alone in their struggles. Adam shares about his personal experiences of anxiety and going to therapy. We also chat about his journey of moving to LA, and meeting new people. Oh, and he’s a pickleball enthusiast. Wondering what that is? Watch until the end of the episode.

Highlights & Takeaways

Destigmatizing mental health and therapy to show that people aren’t alone and that there are resources available
Responding to anxiety and panic attacks, and recognizing that it doesn’t go away, but can be managed
Having a good type of anxiety that isn’t debilitating, but rather fuels you
The once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that can arise by seeking discomfort
How connections help create a support system and people that you can share your amazing experiences with

Resources Mentioned

______

Enjoyed this episode? Share it with a friend and make sure to follow Excuses to Connect on Facebook and Instagram.

Music by Meghan Rennie - Instagram / Soundcloud

Website: excusestoconnect.com

Email: [email protected]

Leave a Voice Message: https://www.speakpipe.com/excusestoconnectSupport Me: Buy Me A Coffee