“One of my friends got into an argument on social media. She texted me and said, ‘These two people are harassing me on Facebook. Can you please help?’ So I kind of intervened. But I very quickly came to the realization that no matter what I said, they were going to dig in their heels and believe what they were going to believe.

“Sadly, I kind of feel that way about a lot of social media arguments. It’s so much easier to refuse to listen to other people or try to understand another perspective when you’re hiding behind a screen on your computer or phone. At the end of the day, you might not agree with each other. But people are much more willing to say nasty, awful things online because they don’t have to look someone in the eye while they’re doing it. And that’s pretty unfortunate.

“As a debater, you don’t get to do that. There is a standard of professionalism and a standard of decorum.

“When I started, I was easily persuaded in a lot of things. I would believe stuff that I saw on the internet without researching further. I would kind of fall victim to that mob mentality. If all these people had an opinion on a certain thing and all these news sites were saying this certain thing, I would take it at face value. Debate has really taught me that I can’t do that. I have to do my own research and be well informed in all areas. And I have to understand things better in order to discover myself as a person.

“I think I’m much more grounded now and well rounded as a result of having to listen to other people’s perspectives.”

— Pamela Johnson

Pamela began debating at Barbers Hill High School. She was a top performer on Lee College’s debate team the past two years. For the fifth time in seven years, LC earned the title of national community college champions in the International Public Debate Association.

Related:

• Big sister steps up in time of need

The post Debate opens her eyes to differing points of view appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I was a paralegal for 35 years, but I quit working for a few years when I was getting diagnosed and dealing with cerebellar ataxia. It’s a neurological thing. They don’t know what causes it. They don’t have a cure.

“Growing up, I was very active. I was a gymnast. I was a dancer. I played the piano. And I talked fast. This ataxia affects your speech, your fine motor skills and your balance. It hit all of them with me.

“When I was diagnosed they said, ‘You’ll end up in a wheelchair.’ But I was like, ‘You don’t know me very well. That’s not going to happen.’ That was 17 years ago. I’m still dealing with it, but it hasn’t gotten any worse. The only thing I have to do is use a walker for balance.

“I live alone with my dog. I take care of myself. And I’m very active. I go meet friends at restaurants. I go to concerts. I go to wineries. I blow and go. I just put that walker in the trunk, and I’m off. The walker doesn’t define me. It’s just something I have to use. I could walk around without it, but falling is the pits.”

— Sherry McKinney, 59

(Editor’s note: Sherry passed away on Dec. 26, 2018.)

Related:

• When children go missing, Texas EquuSearch is there

The post Cerebellar ataxia doesn’t stop her from enjoying life appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I have an older child, so I noticed there was a difference in the progress between the two of them. Ryan talked at an earlier age, but Liam wasn’t talking at all. I started to wonder and research about when I should expect him to start talking. Is this me just comparing him to another child or is this, in general, not where he should be?

“After his 18-month checkup, I kept trying to talk myself out of seeking help. But about a month later, whenever he was throwing lots and lots of fits and having lots of behavioral issues because he wasn’t able to communicate with me, I couldn’t handle it anymore. It wasn’t good for him and it wasn’t good for me or anyone else in our family. We said, he needs to be able to communicate. That’s when I reached out for help.

“When we started he was saying maybe 10 words, and those were single words. He wouldn’t group anything together. That was last March. Today he’s saying sentences, and without being prompted. That’s a huge deal from a year ago.

“We went from like 20 meltdowns a day because of not being able to anticipate what his needs were, to him being able to say this is what I want in whatever way he can say it. Overall now he’s so much happier, and we’re happier, too.”

— Tracy McRee

The post Son’s speech improvements ‘a huge deal’ appeared first on The Baytown Project.