Many deaf and hard of hearing individuals are unable to experience the beauty of music. Allyson Townsend a deaf education teacher who was always passionate about singing and music. She created a music video using sign language, facial expressions and body movement to bring the joy of music to a friend who was deaf. The experience inspired Allyson to create more videos on you tube that is view by over 15,000 people. Music can brighten our mood, comfort us and energizes us. It can also help us release many feelings from happiness, anger and sadness. It is some thing that should be enjoyed and shared by everyone. Click and enjoy the music

Allyson face book page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ally-ASL/207129801391?v=wall

Allyson you tube page
http://www.youtube.com/allyballybabe#p/u/30/k4RrbL2eFhc

Check out my Carrie Writes column
http://www.masslive.com/holyokeplus/republican/index.ssf?/base/news…

http://www.masslive.com/neighborhoodsplus/republican/index.ssf?/bas…

January is mentoring month the time to honor those in our lives who have made an impact on us through our lives. We receive support and knowledge from our parents, teachers, friends and professionals. We can learn so much from others experiences, ideas and opinions. I also find I get a lot of my inspiration from listening to or reading other peoples stories. We all have some thing to offer the world
As writer I share self-improvement tips, my yoga practice and disability issues through my column, blog and motivational speeches to inspire and help people. Today I honor my mom who helped shape my values and my husband who is my hero. I also honor Seane Corn who inspired my yoga practice on and off the mat.

People with disabilities should not be defined by their disability because we are much more than that with so much to offer the world. Just like everyone else we have interests, talents, goals and dreams. I am not only a woman with disabilities but I am a writer, speaker, yogini and activist. My purpose and passion is to reverse the stigma of having a disability from negative to positive. My friend and mentor Gabrielle Bernstein creator of http://www.herfuture.com/ asked me to form a power posse group for people with disabilities and others to share experiences while discussing disability  issues that impact daily life. Visit http://www.herfuture.com/group/womenwithdisabilities to be inspired and to learn from one another.

I will also be turning thirty-nine years old this April.  As I look back on my thirties it is so amazing to see what have accomplished from finding my soul mate, getting married, moving to a new state and finding a job I love.  I also have no regrets about any decisions I made and cherish all the memories.

When I think about what I want the most to do in my last year of my thirties heading into my forties is to be in the best shape of my life. Over the past years I have gained some weight, develop some bad eating habits and develop a few health concerns.  The first step was realizing what I needed to change followed by setting up a plan to meet my goals.

After analyzing my diet I decided I need to focus on being a strict vegetarian while eliminating the following: soda, white foods, coffee, caffeine, fast food and meat.  I will focus on eating fruit, vegetables and whole-wheat products while drinking tons of water.  I am also reaffirming my commitment to my yoga practice by increasing practice time to seventy-five minutes every day . I also want to increase my endurance through biking and power walking.

Taking care of the mind is just as important as taking care of your body. As always I will face each day with love peace and happiness.  I will also continue to fill my life with positive energy while eliminating the negative.  My tools for this task are prayer, meditation and reading inspiring books.  I will also be fueling my creative passion with sketching, photography and journaling.

In my columns and blog I will continue sharing my passions of helping people, self improvement, yoga and disability issues.  Most importantly I will continue my focus on my roles as wife, writer, yogini and disability rights activist.  I have faith that I will meet my goals by time I turn forty years old.