Public Speaking for Children and Adults with Disabilities

Stonewall Vets Speech

Susan Olmetti is an Honorary Member of the STONEWALL Veterans Association, please click to read her Stonewall Vets Speech.

Talk given at the Neumann Association
Family and Client Support Group

It is said that the Greek hero Achilles was invulnerable. He could neither be injured nor defeated in battle. But he did have one flaw. When his mother, Thetis, dipped the infant into the River Styx in order to make him immortal, she forgot about the heel by which she was holding him. Thus, Achilles' heel became the one part on his entire body that was weak and vulnerable and it was through this heel that he was killed.

We all, even the greatest of us, have an Achilles' Heel, our weaknesses. Do not let anyone kid you: having a weekness makes you more human, not less. My primary weakness is bipolar disorder. This is an emotional disorder in which insight and judgment are affected during mood swings. When one is on an upswing, everthing is great. The world is bright and beautiful. Nothing bad can happen. When one is on down, everthing is just the opposite. A dark, somber mood overlays everything around you. Nothing good can happen, the future is bleak.

Today there medications thet can help control the disease. In addition, there are other options that the individual can use to give new meaning to life. In my case, art. This has worked for Lord Byron, Samual Taylor Colderidge, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Vincent Van Gogh — all utilized their art as a form of therapy.

When I am creating art, I am often in my own space. My art gives me pleasure I have accomplished something. It is like a child and is proof of what I accomplish even without formal training. My paintings consist of people in a pure world that I have created in my own mind. My intuition works through an inner voice. Sometimes my body feels weak like a wet noodle, my will is strong and pushes me onward.

I realize that we do not have the same weaknesses but we all have the same objective. That is to rise above our weaknesses, draw from within or without, wherever we can find it and achieve new heights of creativity and living.

For inquiries please contact:
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