How Jessie J Helps Me Conquer Blindness

Hi everyone and welcome back to my blog!

I’ve been wanting to post this for a while but truth be told I haven’t had the confidence as it’s something that’s really personal to me. I  like to be completely honest on my blog so thought that I should finally publish it.

This post is about how my favourite singer (Jessie J) has helped me conquer blindness over the last few years and continues to do so today.

You’re probably thinking what, she sings about doing it like a dude and money… joking aside, her songs include some of the most motivational and inspirational lyrics out there, that’s my personal opinion anyway.

I can also connect with her on a more personal level – she has Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome which is a heart condition. Due to this she was on beta-blockers which turned her skin a greeny colour when she was younger which people bullied her for. She also suffered from a stroke when she was 18. I haven’t experienced either of these but have experienced some forms of bullying and have felt isolated due to my disability just like Jessie has.

 

I’ve been a fan of Jessie since she uploaded videos on YouTube and supported her ever since but I never imagined her music would have such an impact on my life and help me when I need it most. Even now I’m 20 years old, her music still has the same impact on me like it did when I was younger. It makes me feel happy, good about myself, inspired and motivated but it also has one effect on me that no other artist ever does – it makes me feel like I can conquer blindness and that this disability won’t stop me from getting to where I want to be in life.

I remember hearing Jessie’s song ‘Who You Are’ for the first time and nearly crying, that song has such an impact on me I can’t describe it. The lyrics in that song honestly mean everything to me. For those of you that have never heard it, here it is: Jessie J – Who You Are I’ll talk to you about some of the lyrics in that song that mean the most to me. The first is ‘seeing is deceiving.’ Well seeing as I’m blind, this one is pretty self-explanatory but I’ll explain it. It makes me feel like being blind is okay, it doesn’t make me any different. It really makes me think, maybe seeing really is deceiving.

The second is ‘it’s okay not to be okay.’ When I’m feeling down or having a bad day this lyric puts me back on track.

Next is ‘there’s nothing wrong with who you are.’ This makes me realise that there’s nothing wrong with having a disability and that it doesn’t define me.

I could honestly talk about every single lyric from this song but the final one I’ll talk about is ‘just be true to who you are.’ This is by far my favourite lyric…ever. It keeps me going and reminds me to stay true to myself, embrace my disability and love myself for who I am.

There are so many more of her songs that help me including Stand Up, Harder We Fall, Masterpiece and You Don’t Really Know me just to name a few. Go and give them a listen!

 

I’ve seen Jessie live a lot and her concerts blow me away. It’s not all about visual effects or dancing so I think this is one of the reasons why it makes it so special and why I can connect to her even more. It’s her vocals, the emotion in the way she sings – she always gives it her all. And it’s her speeches…they are indescribable. Even watching those on YouTube reduce me to tears. They really make you think about you as a person and about your life. Not in a bad way but in a good way. They honestly help me. No matter if I’m at a concert hearing the speech first hand or watching one on YouTube that I’ve seen so many times before they always help. They trigger something within me that makes me think “you can do this you know”. It took me forever to narrow it down but here are a few of my favourites: just a little heads up there’s 5, I doubt anyone will listen to all 5 but if you have the time go for it! I urge you to listen to speeches 1 and 2 but watch 2 the whole way through, wow, just wow is all I can say. Speech 1 Speech 2 Speech 3 Speech 4 speech 5 I truly believe that Jessie’s music, inspiring words, her determination, dedication and her work ethic have helped shape the person I am today.

Self-confidence is something I’ve struggled with for many years and Jessie’s music has helped me overcome that. I will admit that if it wasn’t for Jessie I wouldn’t have created this blog and so much more. Who knows where I would have been now?

I hope to meet Jessie one day to thank her for helping me to be confident and for making me realise that having a disability isn’t a barrier. I want to help others just like myself, who are maybe experiencing the same struggles that I have gone through. I want to put a little positivity and light into their lives and for them to know that having a disability doesn’t define them or stop them from achieving their dreams. If I can give them some advice or help them in any way I can then that’s all that matters. Jessie has inspired me to aim for that and I do hope that i’ll get there. I’d honestly just like the opportunity to thank her for everything that she has done for me personally and for everything she does for us fans. With Jessie it’s about the music, not the looks and that’s something I am so grateful for as a blind person.

I hope this post wasn’t too cringey haha! Hope you enjoyed it. We all need something to put us back on track and that’s exactly what Jessie does whenever I need it.

 

I hope you’re all well and I’d like to thank you for your continued support, it means more than you know.

 

Remember: just be true to who you are!

Hol x