Hello everyone,
I haven’t updated in a while, I hope you are all doing okay (if anyone is still reading haha). So today’s blog might be similar to my other posts but in some ways, it might also be different.
One thing that has become more apparent to me recently is people’s perceptions on sight loss or other disabilities. I’m not saying it’s just started happening, it’s just something that I have seemed to think about more lately and something that I’ve been reflecting on. As I’ve grown up, I’ve become more independent and obviously rely on my parents less; I’m exactly the same as any other person. Well I like to think as myself as being the same, ok there are some differences like my disability but that doesn’t stop me from doing the majority of things. I can do them, just sometimes in a different way or it may take me longer.
People often say to me “you’re an inspiration”, “you’re amazing”, “and how do you cope with sight loss? I couldn’t”. Don’t get me wrong, these things can be lovely and sometimes boost our confidence but we have to; if we don’t get on with things we don’t live life to the full. As cheesy as it sounds, it’s true. I honestly don’t think fully sighted people understand the techniques that we use or the technology that is out there enabling us to do everyday tasks. They aren’t expected to know but personally I think it would be nice if they knew about these things more. I also feel that it would prevent people from feeling “awkward” around people with disabilities; they might feel like that we are, in fact, normal people.
We are all different; some people have skills that others don’t and that’s the same for us. I play the flute and sighted people are often shocked that I can do such a thing, I often get asked “how do you learn the music?” I don’t let it stop me from doing something that I love to do.
I want to be a teacher when I finish university and I had a conversation with someone the other day; they said to me that it must be so much harder for me to become a teacher because of my sight loss. I thought to myself, okay maybe a little but if it’s something I want to do and it’s my dream why should I let my sight loss stop me?
There are a lot of articles about inspirational people with disabilities and I really do look up to these people but remember; we all have fears that we want to conquer or dreams that we want to achieve. Whether big or small, they’re something that we’re aiming towards. Be proud of who you are and what you’ve achieved; it’s a tough world out there and having a disability can make it even tougher.
Quick note if anyone reads this: what would you like me to post about? Some ideas I’ve got are fashion, beauty, technology, music and everyday tasks. Please do let me know what you’d like me to post! I’ve also linked my twitter up to my blog so please spread my blog and let me know your thoughts/ideas for future posts. Thank you 🙂
Life of a Blind Girl 