My Story

I never remember school not being hard. It is interesting when you are looking at a worksheet and you think “Woah, I could be looking at this in another language”. It is because of the struggles that I had in the first bit of school I was tested for learning disabilities.

As a child I was also diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder which is something that I struggle with to this day and there is a good chance I may struggle with for the rest of my life. Some of my earliest memories as a child are of my anxiety. A change in a class, a babysitter for when my parents went out maybe once a year. Anything that was different and it threw me off my game I never really knew what to think. I also did not understand where this reaction came from. I don’t think I really knew what I was feeling when I was a child. I remember that sometimes it felt like the world was spinning out of control, I never knew why or how to stop it.

In my university career I was a bus student from start to finish. I have many memories of within those first few years, getting off the bus walking across campus, going into the disability center and staying there unless I had to go to class. The Jennifer Keeping Center proved to be a haven for me throughout my undergrad degree and somewhere where I spent majority of my time. I am not the same person I was when I was in my undergrad not even a little bit. As someone once said to me, you went from a wish bone to a backbone. This was one of the best references I have heard in reference to my undergraduate degree. After I finished, I knew I wanted to work in some capacity with children. That is how I stumbled upon the Child and Youth Care Worker program at Holland College in Charlottetown PEI. My time was cut short when in March of 2020 when we abruptly ended due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Even though I did not get to finish my time at Holland College I still feel like I learned so much about myself, what I was capable of.

I have been lucky I have been able to grow so much as a person and advocate for the individuals in my community as well as advocate for individuals with disabilities. I was lucky enough to be the only student speaker in TEDx Cape Breton University. I don’t know if I am truly able to put into words what this experience was like. From start to finish it was more than I ever could imagine. As I was going through my degree it honestly felt as if it would never end. But when I got to the end I wished I could do it all over again.

When I was in my master’s degree my perception of what support was changed tremendously also, I learned support can come in all forms and where you think it will be, it may not. Sometimes it also comes from the most surprising of places. Sometimes I thought I did not need any help. By the end of the degree as I crossed the stage with almost 10 people in the audience, I had the realization that to do this, and to do it well you need people to help, and you also must let people help.When I think back to my whole education and all the experiences I have had.

I can’t say for certain that there was a moment when it just clicked. I still feel sometimes I am not completely sure what I am doing or if I am doing the right thing. But I am quickly learning that no one really is sure what they are doing. This isn’t just being an adult as much as it is just this crazy thing called life. If you feel like you know everything you are doing something wrong because no one knows everything. I can only hope. I am making a difference in the world around me and that is wonderful.

Passion

Empowering youth through advocacy, public speaking, and program design.

Contact

Services

Paigecox@girlsmakingchange.ca

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