As anyone who follows me knows, I have disability. Because of my unique experience, it can be easy to assume that I know what the experience is like for other people with disabilities, but in truth I don't. People's experiences with their disabilities are as varied and unique as any one of us.

In this Fan Favorite episode of the Awkwardly Awesome Podcast, I talk to Ryan Groeneweg about living with Usher syndrome — a hidden disability that causes progressive hearing and vision loss. We discuss his early diagnosis and how he's learned to adapt, ask for help, and maintain independence. Ryan also shares about his upbringing on a farm, his professional journey as a school psychologist and behavior analyst, and offers practical tips for interacting with people who have disabilities.

Since this conversation, Ryan and I have traveled across the state of South Dakota speaking about the complex nature of our independent disabilities. During the process, we consistently discover lots of common ground even though our experiences are quite varied. Our audiences love it!

This man has so much to teach all of us. I hope you enjoy!

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

“The more I’ve let myself show up in the world as just who I am, the more peaceful and content I feel.  It’s almost like you feel like a square peg in a round peg world.  If you show up as a square peg, you will find a place for yourself.  And you will find people and other creatures who will support and champion you.  We each are so completely unique.  It’s a life's work to find the place you fit.” ~ Eliza Blue

Perkins County is in the northwestern part of South Dakota, it boasts a land area 2.7 times greater than the smallest US state, Rhode Island.  Not to be outdone, however, Rhode Island is home to over a million people more than Perkins County.  It’s important to understand the lay of the land because land is precisely what our next guest, Eliza Blue, tends to, along with a cadre of dogs, cats, sheep, horses, gardens, and family.  She, her husband and their two children proudly account for four of Perkins County's 2,835 residents.  She’ll also be the first to admit that she came by this lifestyle completely by accident.

Eliza Blue was born in Detroit, Michigan, went to high school in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and attended Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania where she majored in English Literature, specializing in Shakespeare.  After school, she lived in New York City, where she pursued her dream of being an artist.  Then she moved back to Minnesota where she began to enjoy a burgeoning music career.  

Despite this impressive and rapidly expanding resume, Eliza grappled with her reality that, “This should feel like joy.  I’m supposed to feel like I’m living my dream….but I don’t.”  See, throughout most of her twenties, Eliza struggled mightily with anxiety, depression, feeling overwhelmed and out of place.  

Yet today, she weaves a tapestry that includes parenting, ranching duties, the stories that emerge from the making and sharing of food, building communities in innovative ways, hosting a TV show that celebrates rural life, giving a lecture on Shakesphere in England and hobbies that seem disparate yet work companionably together in surprising ways.  Eliza Blue remains a gifted singer / songwriter and also recently authored a book entitled, “Accidental Rancher: Lambs in the Laundry Room and Other Stories from Perkins County,”  where she brings “a new voice and a musician’s grace to the culture of rural America.” 

Yes, all of the imperfections Eliza once faced drove her to discover a completely unexpected life she now finds delightful. 

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

“I enjoy the freedom of expression to just be me.  I get to connect with family and friends, to communicate with the animals in my life, train and study in so many different modalities from Yoga Therapy, to Reiki, to breath work, to herbalism and sound healing.”  ~ Olivia Morrow

Tell me if you’ve heard this story before?  Olivia Morrow had a decent job in medical billing, she was good at it and it paid the bills, but it left Olivia feeling unfulfilled.  Struggling through various states of unhappiness for five years after she left her medical billing job of 11 years, she knew there had to be something more to life than what she was experiencing but she didn’t really know how to access it for herself.  Until she discovered the world of transformation and motivation online.  

Olivia soaked up as much motivational and inspirational content as she could get her hands, eyes and ears on.  It turned her hopelessness into hope that maybe she could transform her life into something she enjoyed more and found greater meaning in.  Knowing that true change begins within, Olivia began experimenting, first, with changing her mindset.  

Not too long after, she gave her notice at work and took a leap.  Though many of the talks and videos that encouraged Olivia mentioned romantic notions like, “Once you take a leap, a net will appear.”, Olivia began to wonder if her virtual teachers forgot to mention how far one would have to fall first.  She describes the time between her secure job and discovering what she wanted to do next as a “downward spiral” into an “empty void.”

YET, she stayed on the path through uncomfortable terrain and often messy creation, building a business that brings her the fulfillment she once only dreamed about.  The people and animals she now regularly connects with continually inspire her growth, giving her the opportunity to develop deeper understandings of life and the modalities she’s committed herself to.

Adulthood doesn’t come with a guidebook, making choices that have an impact on your life and the lives around you is often not easy work.  Olivia Morrow listened to what called her, chose the path she is living, and that choice ripples out to create more harmony and ease in the world.  I encourage you to tune in, may her words reach the part of you that’s missing something, the way other inspirational teachers once did for her.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

“Without discussing different sides of an issue, we lose the chance to find middle ground. Talking things through opens space for questions and helps us move beyond polarized and familiar thinking patterns. I love conversations—talking, listening, yapping—because every exchange gives me new perspectives to consider.”  ~ Afomiya Dejene

Afomiya Dejene immigrated to the United States from Ethiopia, Africa with her parents when she was just three years old.  Now, at age twenty, she’s majoring in Criminal Justice and minoring in Sociology at the University of South Dakota, as an aspiring attorney.  Recently, she gave a brilliant TEDx talk entitled, “The Power of Conversation,” that I had the privilege of being in the audience to applaud.  

But using her voice hasn’t always come naturally to Afomiya. In elementary and middle school, she often felt isolated as a black immigrant attending schools where the student body was predominately white. She was reluctant to speak much for fear of how people might view her. But in her hesitation to speak in her early years, Afomiya learned a very valuable skill in the art of listening.

In high school, Afomiya decided she had had enough with being insecure and shy.  As a Sophomore at Roosevelt High School, she became President of Black Student Union, where she created Culture Day, a celebration of those born in other countries to promote inclusivity and belonging. At the end of this era, instead of graduating virtually unknown by her peers, she was chosen to deliver an address to her class in front of an estimated 700 people in attendance called, “The Reality and Beauty of Diversity”.   

Claiming her voice has opened up Afomiya’s world in profound ways.  In addition to attending University, she is currently a Criminal Justice Analyst at the Institute for Youth in Policy, Medicaid Policy Intern at the Department of Social Services, and founder of Civic Impact Initiatives, LLC whose motto is “Turning Ideas Into Civic Action.”  She is passionate about advocating for girls and women around the world and helping them claim their voices.

I know that at age fifty, I’m still learning better ways to claim my voice both in conversation and on stage.  I’m an avid practitioner of listening and do all that I can to absorb what someone is saying, even when they hold a differing view than me.  It’s a rewarding challenge, to say the least, and there’s always room to learn more and do better.  I’m excited to learn from Afomiya.  Won’t you join me?  

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

“I want to teach my students to fall in love with the world by role modeling wonder, delight, curiosity, and being unashamed of what I don’t know.”  ~ David O’Hara

Generally, I think I notice a lot, but when I walk with David O’Hara, I realize that there are so many layers to what’s happening in my own backyard that are beyond my awareness.

I love the story he tells about being invited on a hunting trip shortly after relocating to Sioux Falls, South Dakota from Pennsylvania. (He grew up in Woodstock, New York, and before moving to Sioux Falls he lived in Vermont, Spain, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania, with a few short stints in Poland.)  He and his companion were out looking for pheasants. David kept getting down on his hands and knees so he could be close to the ground.  At first his hunting companion was mildly curious about this strategy but after witnessing David do it several times, he started to become a little uneasy and perhaps a bit concerned.  For David, the reason for his actions was simply to get a better sense of some of the smallest details of this environment that was new to him.  This memory is a true testament to David’s  boundless curiosity and wonder at the intricacies of the natural world.  

David O’Hara is an impressive scholar and has been a college professor for 26 years.  He brings a very close observation, presence and curiosity to his craft.  “As an ecologist, I ask certain questions based on what I know about the surrounding environment.  As a philosopher, I ask questions about my questions and then question my assumptions.”  He’s fond of saying, “If you think you know, you stop asking.  If you imagine you might not know, you allow yourself to keep asking, keep being curious, keep searching.”

Whenever I spend time with David, I get the sense that wonder and curiosity might be an answer to worry and despair.  As David puts it, “Wonder and curiosity are the beginnings of love.  It’s been said that what we love, we take care of, and what we take care of gets the benefit of our love.”

This is an idea he elaborated on in a recent TEDx talk on the subject of freshwater mussels that I had the privilege of seeing.   

In a world where environmental challenges are so overwhelming and the environment itself can, at times, appear so far gone as to be unfixable, David emphasizes that nature is determined to heal.  If you look closely enough, you can see it healing in small ways, providing hope that our small individual efforts can play a big role in shaping the unknown future.    

What greater hope can there be for the future of our world than for all of us to approach our lives and all the lives that surround us with more wonder and curiosity?  

Please join me for another inspiring conversation with David O’Hara.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

“Life, to me, is about caring for people and loving people, friends and family.  I don’t see anything, even in the politics of today, that can divide us if we are willing to sit down and talk about it.”  ~ Karen Brokenleg

Karen Brokenleg spent 19 years being a stay at home Mom.  Navigating the rewarding and labor-intensive work of raising three children is no easy task.  She offers the following advice, “You can burnout on being a Mom just like you can burnout on any job.  In the life of being a mother, you can completely lose yourself, but there’s so much more to a person than just being a Mom.  Cultivate your friendships.  Talk to neighbors.  Go to the gym.  Find a job that allows you to work around your children’s schedules.  Read a book.  Create something.”

When her youngest daughter was a year old, Karen, then 37 years old, went back to college, eyeing a career in social work.

As a social worker, Karen found a special passion for supporting people who’d experienced brain injuries along with their families.  She found this work forever interesting and never fully predictable.  She likes to say, “If you know one person with a brain injury, you know one person with a brain injury.”

Now retired, Karen has found her life coming full circle, in a way, as she and her second husband care for two of their granddaughters after school, two to three days a week until their mother gets off work.  Before the granddaughters went to school, Karen and her second husband cared for them 5 days a week.

Indeed, caring for the people we love and allowing them to care for us is one of life's biggest rewards.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

I just love this conversation with my longtime friend, Shiloh Oorlog. We've been friend's since college and yet, this interview brought up things I had no idea about her.

It's really quite fascinating how, when we've known someone for a long time, we tend to get used to thinking about them in a certain way and engaging with them in familiar ways. BUT, when we get to experience them in new environments, with different people, or in an entirely different format–like a podcast–there's almost always something new to discover!

You're not going to want to miss this revealing, Fan Favorite episode about music, nonprofit work, and the unexpected paths and small accidents that lead to an incredibly meaningful life.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

“Hey, this experience, as painful and disruptive to my life as it was, allows me to connect with a whole different group of people in a way I couldn’t have before….the choice isn’t easy at all, but I do have a choice to find light in the challenge, to sometimes make a dark joke and move on.”  ~ Katelyn Cook

At the end of her senior year of college, Katelyn Cook was excited to be graduating with a major in speech pathology and was eager to begin her career.  But, she also found herself pretty bummed that her friends, one after another, had called and said they couldn’t come to her 24th birthday party.  She had no idea that far from having other things to do, her friends were planning a party for her.  On the evening that was meant to be a joyous surprise party, Katelyn got into a horrendous traffic accident involving a semi-truck.  

Fortunately, she survived the calamity.  Unfortunately, she sustained a traumatic brain injury as a result of it.  “Everything came on me with hurricane force.  I was planning to be a speech therapist.  Suddenly, I was a client struggling to get through speech therapy session after speech therapy session.”  Beyond relearning how to have conversations, Katelyn also struggled with severe anxiety and depression which was, at times, debilitating. 

In the midst of these intense struggles, Katelyn came to understand that she had a choice in the matter and came to the realization that she could do more good alive than dead.  “I choose life.”

Her most crucial decision made, Katelyn rediscovered the determination she had before the accident, “give me the worst case scenario and I will tell you the best way to get through it.”

She became an Independent skills instructor with individuals with neurodiversities, and then took a position as a supervisor.

She currently works for SafeinHome.  SafeinHome empowers people with disabilities or other challenges to live independently in their own homes and communities using remote support technologies.

Katelyn has the following advice for anyone embarking on a healing journey, “Find one thing that brings you joy each day and get a good therapist.”

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

“As technology is changing the way we work, people are going to need to become more passionate, and really follow their passion.  Mundane jobs are going away.  Without something to be passionate about, it could leave our idle hands to do bad things.” ~ Kevin Elsing

Kevin Elsing knows a thing or two about following his passions.  While pursuing an education in electronic engineering after high school, he felt a shiny, new drum set would make for a more appropriate use of his student loan funds.

And he wasn’t entirely wrong…

Kevin joined Crash Alley, a local band from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for the recording of, and the touring behind, their second album, “Loud ‘N’ Ugly”.  His addition to the rhythm section proved to be the exciting push the band needed to really take off into the stratosphere.  From 1991 to 1993, Crash Alley toured non-stop, playing nearly 300 nights a year, opening for iconic bands as varied as Aerosmith, Quiet Riot, and Steppenwolf to Dokken, Warrant, and Pantera.  The band's intense focus and commitment attracted several record labels and ultimately landed them a major label showcase with Atlantic Records.  In 2025, Crash Alley was even inducted into the South Dakota Rock and Roll Music Association Hall of Fame.  

But it wasn’t all accolades, Crash Alley played an important role in Kevin Elsing’s love life.  He met his future wife while performing at the Pomp Room, a legendary Sioux Falls bar some 33 years ago and, all these years later, they remain happily married with two children.

Kevin admits he loved his stint as a local rock legend.  Having soared to such great heights, on the heels of his musical passion, he became increasingly interested in his other passions and giving them wings as well.

Those passions lead to him to become the virtual Chief Information Officer (vCIO) for businesses that are too small to support their own IT services through his company ELBO Computing Resources Inc.  

In addition, he’s become  passionate about helping people strengthen their critical thinking skills in the age of AI and speaks to audiences on the topic.  

Kevin is also heavily involved with Navigating Beliefs, teaching Street Epistemology (SE), a conversational method designed to help people critically examine their own beliefs so that they can shift from argumentative debates to collaborative discussions, even on the most polarizing of issues.

Kevin says, “Everything that we do impacts other things.  If we make one change, it flows down river to impact other things.”

To hear more of this local legend’s stories and words of wisdom, you’ll have to tune in.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

“The only thing I wanted for my son was the best opportunities to have access to what he needed.” ~ Sarah Anthony

Sarah Anthony was well along her path to becoming a lawyer when her son, Aden, was diagnosed with autism at the age of two.  At that time, “austim” was a word Sarah had hardly heard, as the condition was not widely known or discussed.

Like many things in life, a diagnosis of autism comes with its own gifts, as well as its own challenges.  Perhaps one of the biggest hurdles a family who has a child with a disability faces is finding a supportive community.  

An introvert at heart, Sarah takes pride that she grew up in small towns around California with populations of 5,000 or less.  She envisioned raising Aden in a similar fashion.  Small towns have strong bonds, after all, and they have a way of looking out for their residents in ways that are often lost in their larger counterparts.  

But, life contains so many “howevers” and one of Sarah’s came in the form of her mentor pointing out that as idyllic as small town life for Aden sounded, the reality was that he would have far more access to the services he needed in a metropolitan area.  

Her mentor’s recommendation?  She suggested that Sarah and Aden move to Sacramento, a place with a metro population of 2.48 million . . . a mere 500 times larger than anything Sarah or Aden had even known.  Suffice to say, Sarah offered a hard “no” to the idea.  She simply wasn’t ready to take that big of a leap.   

However, a year later, her mentor tried again.  This time Sarah was more receptive.  She remembered her grandparents, who had a huge and joyful social circle which Sarah got to experience whenever she had the chance to visit them in Berkley.  She’d always cherished those memories and could finally start to see the benefit of her son having easy access to something similar. 

Not wanting to waste even another day contemplating, Sarah sprung into action.  A few hours after talking with her mentor, she leased an apartment, sight unseen, and she and her son were off to Sacramento!

In Sacramento, Aden received outstanding services, made friends and built a community that he loved and that loved him in return.  

With Aden’s needs met, Sarah felt comfortable giving some attention back to herself and her desires.  In the process she met a man, fell in love and got married. 

Now Aden is 22 years old and delights in doing things that challenge him, inspire him and bring him joy.  Meanwhile, Sarah works for SafeinHome.  SafeinHome empowers people with disabilities or other challenges to live independently in their own homes and communities using a remote support staff and assistive technologies.

Sarah describes her bond with Aden, “It’s a partnership between Aden and I.  He is as much an active person in this.  I’ve learned so much about life from him.  I have such admiration for him and his willingness to try again and again.”

Please join me for this inspiring conversation.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com