Meet Emily Stahl

We were lucky to catch up with Emily Stahl recently and have shared our conversation below.

Emily, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

I have learned to never give up from chasing your dreams, especially when life gets hard. I lost my dad to cancer when I was only 15 years old. It taught me to appreciate the little things in life. Then when I was in my early twenties, I was diagnosed with a neuromuscular disorder, Late Onset Tay Sachs. Life keeps giving me challenges, but I try to see the good side of it. After being diagnosed, being creative became my outlet and escape from the hardships.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I have been working full time as a Senior Designer for a home decor company for the last 8.5 years and run my art business on the side. These have been huge passions of mine. Last year, I found another passion after some bad accessibility experiences I went through when traveling. This led me to start my advocacy blog called Creating Inclusivity. I have always shared my story on my art page, but wanted a space where I could share more. I have been an MDA Ambassador for the last few years and figured I could use my blog to share my story and have a place people could go to learn more about my disorder. I look forward to growing it this year by posting more often and highlighting other peoples’ stories as well. I am excited for this endeavor to spread awareness and grow with this community.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The three qualities that were most impactful in my journey would be resilience, determination and positivity. Resilience is important, because when life gives me challenges, I try to take a breath and then face them head on. I have determination, because no matter how hard it gets, I am determined to keep going and chasing my dreams. This could be through my Creating Inclusivity blog, my art business, or even getting out of bed in the morning. Some days are harder than others, but you have to push yourself to keep going. The last quality would be positivity, I get sad and have bad days, but then I pick myself up and try to look at the positive side of things.

For folks who are early in their journey, my best advice would be never give up. You may have bad days or face challenges along the way. You can take time to cry and regroup, but then you think about how you face those challenges. It will make you a stronger person in the end.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

I am always looking for folks to collaborate with! I would love to share other peoples’ stories about their disorders or disability on my blog. It’s nice to be able to relate to other people not living a “normal” life. I also love connecting and working with other creatives. As a graphic designer, there is so many ways we could collaborate!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.creatinginclusivity.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creatinginclusivity/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61565526446972
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-stahl-75517a88/