We recently had the chance to connect with Noah Weaver and have shared our conversation below.
Good morning Noah, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
Yes! I have recently felt incredibly proud of Word Whizzes, which is the game I created following my TBI in 2022. Word Whizzes is being played by hundreds of people across the country either as a game they are playing with to improve their speech or for giggles and guffaws with family and friends. I have put something into the world that is helping people laugh, and helping them find their voices again.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hello, my name is Noah Weaver. I know deep in my core that art makes living more vibrant, and so I create art whenever I have the opportunity. my various artistic pursuits include being a published game designer, a published poet, a prolific tongue twister writer, a musician with music on all streaming platforms, my artist names are N.L.W. and Noah Weaver, in case you are curious. I am an aspiring photographer, and as long as I am able I will be there to offer a helping hand to those who need it. I am also, as of 2022, a traumatic brain injury survivor. Standing at death’s door and turning away gives you a whole new perspective on life. I am so grateful to be here and to be honest I just want to see us all live peaceful fulfilling lives. It’s possible, and it starts with us.
Friendly Neighbor – The haiku I wrote after my TBI
I was at Death’s door,
I knocked, then I changed my mind,
Turned and walked away.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
When I was a child, and well into my teenage years, and even into my twenties, I believed any negative emotion I experienced was bad and that they should be avoided at all cost. I now recognize that anger, sadness, and fear are all extremely valuable. Anger is a powerful force for change, you just need to understand how to control your own anger. Sadness is vulnerability on full display. We thrive when we truly connect through vulnerability and empathy. We feel close to people when we get to be there for them during their low moments. How can we expect people to truly feel close to us if we are never vulnerable ourselves? As for fear, the two emotions in the world that everything can be boiled down to are fear and love. When we don’t express our fears they grow inside us and love is pushed out, there is no room for love to take root and thrive. When we voice our fears, take bring out of the shadows and into the sunlight, they evaporate, albeit painfully slowly sometimes. The deeper the pool of water the longer it takes to dry. So what I now believe, as I am still growing, is that all emotions are important. Our world, the one inside us, needs both yin and yang.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Yes, May 27th, 2022, that is the date of the car crash that caused my traumatic brain injury. My first memory after that day was a week later. I woke up in the hospital room, my mom was in a chair next to my bed. I croaked out the words, “Mom. Where, am, I?” She told me that I’d had a traumatic brain injury and I was in the hospital. I asked her is disbelief, “Am, I, dreaming?” She replied, “No, Noah. This is real.” Needless to say, I did not imagine this would be a part of my journey. I am lucky to just be alive and extra lucky to have the love and support that I did after the accident. It is because of that support that, after the initial shock of waking up in a hospital bed, I was able to pull through and keep a positive mindset through the majority of the healing experience. Did I still had moments where I was in mourning or felt a sense of hopelessness? Of course I did. I’m human after all. Nowadays, looking back on that chapter of my life, I have extreme gratitude. What started with a traumatic brain injury that severed my nerve connections and left me unable to walk and barely able to use my voice, lead to me experiencing more love than I had ever felt, from my family, my friends, nurses, therapists, everybody! To top all of that off it ended with me writing tongue twisters and creating Word Whizzes. which I am very honored and humbled to say that along with all the joy and silliness it’s bringing, the fact that makes me happiest about the game. Is that it is being used in speech therapy to help patients who have experienced brain injuries. I deeply desired to add more silliness for the people going to speech therapy, as someone who has been there myself, I know how scary and frustrating it is to lose your voice. Which makes it all the more important to add laughter wherever we can. It’s quite challenging to laugh and at the same time also be afraid. We happen to learn better when we are having fun, too. I’m hoping in the long run, Word Whizzes will help improve people’s recovery time in speech therapy.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
The short answer; life.
The slightly longer answer. Every person’s right to live a fulfilling and meaningful life. We got it backwards somewhere a long time ago and we haven’t readjusted yet. Look around at everything that we are capable of. We can easily provide for every single person on the planet. It’s baffling to me that the people in charge of countries are not making their number one priority that all of the citizens are fed and have access to water, healthcare and housing. Society’s main purpose was never supposed to be about making higher profits, society was created by people to take care of people. Humankind will thrive once we all remember that. The thing I value most is life, and not just my life but all life.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What do you think people will most misunderstand about your legacy?
It’s not about me. What’s important is the impact I left on the world. Are future generations’ lives improved by what I did, by something that I created? When I die my ego will die with me, I highly doubt I’ll care if my name is remembered at that point. What matters is, is the game I made helping people have fun finding their voices? Is the poetry I’ve written inspiring others to achieve their dreams, inspiring them to change the world for the kinder in their turn on this planet? Those are the things that matter. My name is not important. What I would like to say to anyone willing to listen is, do great things because they are great. Not for your own personal ego, but because the world deserves greatness. The world deserves kindness. The world deserves love. We are not the last dancers on this planet and it’s up to us to set the stage.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Wordwhizzes.com
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@noahweaverthepoet?si=Dju1hiCOl4zQQ-gI
- Other: https://tidal.com/browse/artist/18880734?u
https://tidal.com/browse/artist/16380190?u
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/noah-weaver/1655230032
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/n-l-w/1473759652
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5tKK8AJMuAWTHHN89IJV96?si=sA3ceusFQWyLhobQnqrYNg
Image Credits
Arianna Neal
Noah Weaver
Janet Weaver
David Campanini
