[nabs-l] Some Questions...

[Ashley Bramlett]

Kerri,

I don't think this is all a blindness thing. I hope my ideas are not 
repetetive as I have not read all the responses yet.
You might want to tell us more about your background and interests and what 
opportunities are near you so we can help more.
I don't know where you live or what colleges are in your state. I'll try and 
speak generally too without knowing much about you.

Confidence and self esteem is definitely built overtime. If you want to go 
to college, pick a major you are interested in and that leads to 
transferable career skills. if you have  careers in mind that require a 
degree, then you may want to try a community college first if one is near 
you since you don't have the pressure of picking a major. Also, community 
college is cheaper and usually has smaller classes.

Talk to your friends and family about this who know you better. Now a days, 
blind people can do most careers.
Once you have ideas of a handful of careers, you can seek mentors, both 
blind and sighted. AFB's career connect is a online community of mentors 
which is a good resource.

Good luck.

-----Original Message----- 
From: Kerri Kosten
Sent: Friday, June 07, 2013 7:43 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list ; Ed McDonald ; 
karen ; Anjelina Cruz ; Kea.anderson at gmail.com ; dsmithnfb at gmail.com ; 
Arielle Silverman
Subject: [nabs-l] Some Questions...

Hi Everyone:

I don't want to say too much on a public list, so I am going to try to
keep this very general and just ask my questions.
Basically, how did you decide what you wanted to do in life for a career?
How did you pick your major?
If you do not have much confidence in yourself, how did you find out
what you were passionate about/wanted to do?
How did you find internal motivation?
How did you decide whether to go to school, or just get a job?
What jobs can blind people do without a degree?
What jobs can a blind person do just to gain confidence in themselves
until they find direction?
I find myself really struggling now that I am out of training. I did
really well in training, but the goals I set in training do not apply
now in the situation I am in because those goals were training
specific. I think I also did really well in training because it was a
routine and I got used to it. I was also always told what to do, or
knew what I needed to work on in each class.
I am really struggling finding motivation now that I am on my own and
don't have the training center staff encouraging me, pushing me, and
telling me what to do.
My problem I think is if I am scared of someone, or I really
respect/admire someone, or I am intimidated by someone, I will work as
hard as I can and make sure to do everything they say. But, when just
left to myself, on my own, I really really struggle to find
motivation, make decisions about things, and find direction.
Does anyone else find themselves struggling with this kind of thing
after training or am I the only one?
How have you gotten through it and found direction/your passion and
what you wanted to do?
The problem is my Rehab counselor called me today. He is someone I
really respect. I am now stressing out because I want to at least have
a plan for him when I return his call. I at least want him to think
that after spending so much money to send me to training, I am
motivated and am doing things and taking some sort of action rather
than sitting around.
But, I have no idea what jobs to look for or what to do. A Dunkin
Donuts just opened here recently. Is there anything I could do there?
I just want to show my counselor I have been doing something or at
least have a plan.
Thanks so much, and I look forward to reading your responses!
Kerri

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