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gr☆ce

@graceinelson

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hell on wheels† ♿︎⚢ disability + political advocate.
uiowa ‘27 poli sci + engl + disability studies
@sdaiowa | @uiowastudentgov
🫀🐈‍⬛🌙🩻🎧🎸💌🪩

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still can’t believe this is real. rest in peace, sweet girl. the world is a worse place without you in it, but i know you’re somewhere better. my heart aches for those who will never get to know you and your infectious laughter and your kind soul. i’m eternally grateful for the time we got to spend together, and i will hold these memories close to my heart always. i love you karlee 🤍 by @graceinelson

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2 years ago

i am McLovin by @graceinelson

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4 months ago

a beautiful birthday with my beautiful friends! ⭐️🌷🩵 by @graceinelson

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5 months ago

serving fierce or fiercely serving? by @graceinelson

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6 months ago

FORMER POSTER CHILD ☆

the most “how it started” vs. “how it’s going” ever. when i was first asked to join FPC (aka Inter/ACT aka Human Variations aka Accessibility Anthropology Autobiography Anthology), i thought it would be similar to the many times ive been asked to play the role of the All-Knowing Disability Oracle®️ for a school project. i’d provide sympathetic reassurance & “yes, you can say that”s & hold the hand of a nondisabled audience as they realize Wow…They’re Not So Different From Us (for one night only). i never imagined that id be playing the role of myself, and even more surprisingly, that that would be more than enough. i didn’t have to inspire, shock, thank, lecture, or serve The Disabled Experience on a shiny platter marked SAFE FOR CONSUMPTION. when i realized this wasnt that kind of project, it scared me. i’d never been asked to talk about Disability so authentically, without nondisabled comfort and understanding at the center, starting from a base-level understanding of Disability as not negative, not even neutral, dare i say…generative? i didn’t know if id be able to do it. i’ve been performing disability (quite successfully) for 20 years, had i forgotten how to just be Disabled? on purpose? who was i underneath the child who desired being Low Maintenance above all else, the middle schooler who apologized for every bathroom break, the teenager who thought a long enough resume would cancel out an accommodation request? well, a Former Poster Child, of course. selfishly, i learned more in this process than anyone. finally! it was my turn to exploit the nondisabled audience for my own gain. i bore my heart, soul, and bladder in front of the entire theatre dept faculty, the Neurologist who diagnosed me, and God, and i walked (?) away with the most gained. an entirely new language, art form, and framework for thinking about Disability, accessibility, and being human — ideas, feelings, and experiences that were always inside of me, now finally realized in the only medium that could achieve such a feat: Theatre!!!!

[cont. in comments…i wrote a 70 minute show of just me talking, you thought i could write a caption under 2200 characters?] by @graceinelson

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7 months ago

summer i love you morning evening & night!! ⛅️🌈🦋🪴☕️☄️🩵🌙🌌🪼🪸🌱 by @graceinelson

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a year ago

happy heavenly birthday kar! i find different and unique ways to miss you everyday. i see you in every beautiful thing, in the taylor swift songs that happen to play in every coffee shop im in, in the sunsets on my way home from class, in my sudden bursts of motivation when fighting for change, in the movie musicals i now have to belt in the car by myself. i continue to celebrate you and keep you with me in all my endeavors, but none of them feel complete without you texting to congratulate or console me with equal parts sarcasm and sincerity. you were always my biggest cheerleader. i hope you like my new tattoo! even though taylor is literally the biggest artist in the world, i still think of her as “our” special thing. i went through a few “not like other girls” phases where i denied our past swiftie adventures, which i know you did not appreciate. i hope you feel proud of yourself knowing you won — i will have her lyrics tattooed on my body for the rest of my life. anything for you kar!! now i have an excuse to talk about you whenever someone asks me about it. i loved spending so many firsts with you. i never thought all these firsts would turn into lasts. i miss & love you always. happy birthday kar, 20 doesn’t feel the same without you 🩵 by @graceinelson

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a year ago

20 on 20 #goldenbirthday by @graceinelson

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a year ago

if i’m peaking my sophomore year of college at least it’s a really high peak by @graceinelson

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a year ago

my year (semester) of rest (pain) and relaxation (suffering). and so so much love taken in University of Iowa by @graceinelson

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2 years ago

back 2 school haircut ✂️ by @graceinelson

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2 years ago

recent adventures with friends 🌷🌒🍵🍓:) by @graceinelson

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2 years ago