Kristen Beaver
Kristen Beaver is in her third season as a dancer with Open Arms Dance Project. Kristen’s love of dance started early. She has been taking adaptive dance classes with various teachers in Boise since she was in pre-school. Being visually impaired, dancing with OADP gives her a freedom of joyful movement in a safe space.
Interview Transcription:
SPEAKERS
Molly Joyce, Kristen Beaver
Molly Joyce 00:00
The first question is, what is care for you?
Kristen Beaver 00:54
Well, I mean, because I do, I might even know what my I am an adult, my mom and dad are my legal guardians, guardians, so they, you and I don't live with them, they still care to you know, they don't do a lot of it. I have a home person that lives with me five days a week. And then I have other people that come in on the weekends to take care of me and my roommate. So I mean, it could it be anything from like, I have people that do you know, what others do my hair, my nails or whatever? Or take me two minutes I have another person that she takes me to the gym and we do other things or we like have some films that I've done that we've gotten movies or whatever I have a variety of people that work for me doing different things so that my parents don't have to do it all because they work and our sisters hurt for her okay do you have anything more to carry on I'm because I actually can't, you know, depends on the date depends on how much care I actually need. There's days that I can't putting on what my because I bet arthritis and stuff. So there's days that my caregiver, whoever's around literally has to do almost everything for me and there's days that she just does like my hair and the cooking and driving really varies.
Molly Joyce 03:46
Next question is, what is strength for you?
Kristen Beaver 03:49
Well, strength depends. Because physically I don't tend to have a lot of actual physical strength, but I have a lot of strength in terms of what I can tolerate that a lot of people won't, can't deal with, like, like, because I have because my muscles hurt all the time. So I don't know what it's like not to live in pain. I have a very, very high tolerance for you know, I'll keep going and like, like, being doing things like like, I'll do something where I might have dance, and I might have a bad grade and I might do something like I might have a lot of stuff all together. And I you know after a while it does like but I also have very, I have a strength of being compassion and caring for people. Because I've been involved with a self-advocacy group. I've been really involved with it. When they have, like getting things passed for people that are going to be people's guardians, that they have had backgrounds and things like that. I've had checks. I've done a lot of different speaking things through different groups that I belong to. And I also ski and dance. I play wheelchair basketball. I don't let too many things get to me. You know, let me slow me down other than they still won't let me drive for some reason. And I do art I, if you were like, I actually made a piece for Megan that Megan has in her house.
Molly Joyce 05:57
Yeah, I visited a self-advocacy meeting in Minnesota for virtually overseeing this project.
Kristen Beaver 06:02
Yeah. Yeah, Idaho used to have a very strong self-advocacy group. In fact, I was the president for Boise chapter. And Hava, who was here was our treasurer. Oh, yeah. And my caregiver and her caregiver used to be the ones to kind of oversee everything and kept it running the way that was, and her mom as well. And I've, I have very, very good parents that have always advocate for me, always. I'm really lucky that way. And they've been able to, just for a variety of reasons. Partly because of what my some of the connections that my dad had us for a living. Some of it's just things that my mom, my mom knows, and stuff like that. So I've been really lucky because there are people that don't have as much resources. And so, I pretty much kind of do what I want to do. I have one person, one person that lives with me five days a week, and then I have another my best friend that lives with me. She says six days a week. And then we have a Saturday person that comes in.
Molly Joyce 07:47
And the last question is, what is interdependence for you?
Kristen Beaver 07:51
Right? I mean, I actually am capable of less I'm having a lot of health issues, staying there like I can, as long as there's somebody around, like in the morning, to help me do to do my hair. And I have stretches I have to do because I've got arthritis and cerebral palsy and scoliosis and stuff. So I as long as there's somebody there to stretch me and do my hair. I can make sure there's something for me to eat. I can pretty much function at my house by myself. Same at night, as long as there's somebody to help do night. The only thing that is I can't share if I'm home alone because I have a seizure disorder and I also fall so otherwise, I can stay at my house all by myself overnight. And I always keep my cell phone on. And my sister-in-law lives literally across the street from me so. So I've got a lot of resources. So I mean, I ski, I play special basketball. I'm in one other dance class. I do things with Fort Boise I do art every week. I have my own little art web page which is connected my Facebook and it's called Art with a Vision. Yeah. So I pretty much do whatever I want to do. There's some things that because I am on a lot of meds for different things. I do get kind of terrified because okay, this woman, this okay yet kind of gets old but for the most part, I pretty much do what I want when I want to do. So I'm really fortunate that I have a lot of resources to do that.