 Sunshine beaming through morning eyes, gentle laughter to cool the day. Happy moments blossoming into flowers, seeds planted into a garden of memories. Sailing on breezes of care, love steers the helm of our dreams. Friendship is the content of our crew. Cheren pleasant, can there, can there say? Bernice Cheren Hoagland has lived a unique, challenging, and inspiring life. Born with cerebral palsy, Cheren started early to overcome the many barriers that presented themselves in her life path. At age 15, Cheren was diagnosed with scoliosis and eventually also acquired arthritis, all of which combined has left her a quadriplegic with a severe speech impediment. Cheren's life has often been one of isolation and forced solitude. She reclaims her strength with her creative energy as an artist and writer. Take me to the ocean, bury me in the sea, cast my soul upon the water. To take flight like a bird with a broken wing, I want to be free. Cheren began writing at an early age. She received tutoring in the first grade at home. Cheren and her teacher discovered that she liked to work with words and liked to rhyme them. Like tiny grains of sand, I hold you gently in my hand as we walk the shore of life. Dare I squeeze too tightly, you may slip through my fingers. So I hold you gently, hoping the violent sea and me will not come and wash you away. Choosing to leave an unhappy home life on the east coast, Cheren made her way to California at the age of 32. She completed a two-year teaching correspondence course in fiction writing. While attending a two-year junior college in Los Angeles, she was accepted to Berkeley. Knowing that receiving education at a four-year university would be more challenging than studying at a junior college, Cheren elected to graduate with an AA degree in communications. First I made it into the arts, then I made it into psychology. After the experience of living in a nursing home and a convalescent home, Cheren moved out on her own in Los Angeles, where she lived for 20 years. Today, Cheren lives in her own apartment in Santa Cruz, California. First I came here for a first time. One, two, three. It is really important. When I decided to move out, I had to go with that. You see the public here. You believe how much that payout helps. It is physically a challenge for me. It is very difficult, I think, to do. It is important. It is a challenge for me. Understand. Mentally. It is like anywhere else. It is just a... It is just a... Physically. I am not like anywhere else. So I need help. According to Cheren, the most valued element in her interactions with others is for people to respect her as an equal human being and to take the time to understand her when she is speaking to realize that her cognitive abilities are very high. Many people, when meeting her, have already formed a picture that she is mentally challenged. As Cheren says, not everyone in a wheelchair is mentally challenged. She encourages people to take the time with those who have developmental disabilities to discover what the true disabilities are within an atmosphere of respect and patience. I want to communicate. To provide that. To enjoy or provide services. But it requires that there is a knowledge which must be acquired. This knowledge contains a feeling of curiosity of the self. It is the knowing that we can go beyond. The video is this. Think alike with a mind to realize that we are more than different. Only with this meditation comes to life when you are able to give a reason to the public to respect that we all deserve. And the person that the camera knows the person he wishes is going to work with and knows he's working with the needs of her. And he can't do that unless you can't bring him or her. When they get the money, when they know exactly They know my name. They all know my name. Sharon is a familiar sight in and around her community. Her dog, Princess, is her constant companion. She's often on her way to the bookstore where she's active in poetry readings and performance art. She has many acquaintances in her community and is often out and about for the majority of a day. Sharon has much to share with others who are seeking a lifestyle that fosters independence. She writes, A person who is physically very severely disabled but who has a very alert mind must learn how to be streetwise starting from early childhood. Physically challenged children and adults must be taught how to recognize the importance of being streetwise and the importance of taking good care of themselves if they desire to live independently in society. Sharon visits her doctor and dentist regularly and is responsible for keeping appointments and checkups. Her circle of support group is made up of friends, associates and staff who care about her. The circle of support meetings are an opportunity to meet and work together to further Sharon's immediate and future goals. Friends are a very important part of Sharon's life. If I could, I would send you my soul on the wind for all that you have given to me. But the secrets of my soul are not tangible. They remain deep within the depths of me. If you accept my love, you will inherit all of what I am. For that is all I can give to you. Sharon has wishes for the future. They include publishing more of her poetry, acquiring her own personal van with a wheelchair lift, starting a nonprofit organization to train people to assist in the care of people with disabilities, going on a vacation and speaking on a lecture tour about her experiences. We can all learn from Sharon's story. It speaks loudly to us about possibilities and abilities, not just for people with developmental disabilities, but for all people on this earth. And when we meet again, we will fly along the Pacific Ocean and build a nest among the great cliffs, just the two of us. We will be a kin with the albatross as we dream so often in our lifetime.