5/30/25 - Friday Video Share: I'm not your inspiration, thank you very much

Another foundational disability video ...

I'm not your inspiration, thank you very much

Stella Young, TED Talks - June 9, 2014

I think this might be the first disability-related video I ever saw on YouTube. I don't remember if I stumbled upon it with a nudge from the algorithm, or if I read about it somewhere and clicked a link to it. I have posted it before here, but it was a long time ago, so I don't feel bad about repeating it.

I miss Stella Young. I never knew her, not even through social media. But I miss her as a voice saying wise, funny things about the disability experience – someone who could be counted on to have something to say about things happening in disability life around the world. It's easy to over-mythologize people like Stella. But I don't sense that being a problem in her case. For those who knew her, her real personality seems to be with them still. And for the rest of us, her words and delivery of them help keep us grounded – hopeful, never complacent, and just the right amount of pissed off.

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