1. Language empowers people by building up their confidence and their self- esteem. Nobody wants to hear negative things about themselves, but instead positive uplifting words of encouragement. People hear kind words and they feel empowered, they feel like a million dollars, but as soon as one negative thing is said about the same person it can tear down and crumble everything that person just felt about themselves. Language, good or bad, can make or break any person.
2. Some people in our society have power, meaning they have a say- so over other people. They have control to make a change, good or bad, and they have the ability to control the people under them. I think power is often portrayed in a negative manner, but that's not the case. There are people who work for the power they possess and they've earned the right to be in charge. Other folks have the privileges, meaning they don't always have the right to that power mentioned above. Privilege, in my opinion, can also be portrayed negatively because often people see the word privileged and think that that person didn't have to work as hard or put in as much effort to get to wherever they're at in the world. These words can be seen as both positives and negatives, but they hold a connection. To have power means to be privileged. One has the privilege of being in a position of power, whether they've worked hard for that position or not.
3. My personal commitment to People- First Language is to be respectful to others. To watch how things are being said, but also to encourage others, with or without disabilities.