Today, I want to share a simple but powerful lesson about respecting others' opinions.

This lesson came to me during my time at Gallaudet University, the only four-year liberal arts university for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

I was one of about 100 hearing students in the master’s program, but honestly, I didn’t feel very accepted at first. Most of the students had hearing loss, and this was a space where they felt understood and supported. To them, my presence as a hearing person felt like an intrusion.

I remember going to the campus laundromat one day and getting bawled out:

"You shouldn’t be here. This isn’t your university."

Ouch. It was condemning. I felt rejected and out of place.

But later, I realized something important. Their reaction wasn’t really about me — it was their own story. They had worked hard to be in a place where they felt safe and understood. I was intruding on their territory.

That experience taught me to respect their perspective. I didn’t need to take their reaction personally. Instead, I could choose to understand where they were coming from and love them for who they were and where they were in their journey.

So, if you find yourself on the receiving end of someone else’s story and it feels tough, try to love the person from where they are.

Recognize that their experience, their story, is different from yours, and that’s okay. We don’t have to agree with everyone, but we can choose to honor their journey and respect their opinion. In doing so, we create a more compassionate and understanding world.

Respecting others isn’t about agreeing with them — it’s about acknowledging their journey and choosing to respond with love and empathy.

I hope you have an amazing day!

Today I'm talking about making the choice to be happy — making the choice to get in a better mood and be in a higher vibrational state.

This is because I saw a meme last week that was hilarious.

It said: "Are you having a bad day?...

...or have you had a bad five minutes but you've been milking it all day?"

That's what we do.

We ruminate about stuff that we have no control over when we can just let it go instead.

Yesterday, I had a student who walked in and said, "I'm pissed off! The bus went around a different way, and I was late."

She stayed upset for a long time.

I finally said, "You're choosing to stay upset because of what the bus driver did an hour ago instead of letting it go."

She smiled because she didn't even realize she was doing it.

If something comes up, take the next right step, whatever  you can do. And then let it go, because you have no control of persons, places, or things.

I would love for you today to choose to be happy.

Be cognizant of what you are putting in your brain and the words that are coming out of your mouth. Are you milking it because it's only been five minutes, or is it really a bad day?

I hope you have an amazing day.

Lately, I've been coming to you from my car because life isn't perfect.

Ideally, I'd set up my tripod. I'd put my mic in. It would sound PERFECT!

But you know what? I'm at a job and this is the main time I can do this.

People say life isn't perfect, but it can be. You make those choices of perfection, even in the worst of situations. Because that is where you learn the most.

So you can decide that this very moment is perfect, whether it feels great or if it feels lousy. Because you go into that lesson that you're supposed to learn in life.

So give yourself that perfect moment.

Perfectly great that you can take a breath today.

Perfectly great because you are able to walk on both feet.

Whatever that is, decide – "this is my perfect moment! I can give it a different perspective."

Have an amazing day!