[nabs-l] Feeling Inadequate After National Convention?

[Elizabeth Mohnke]

Hello Anjelina,

Thank you for your response. Although, I am not quite sure why I am being
applauded for being bold enough to post about something that no one else
seems to really understand. The new tagline of the NFB states that we can
live the life we want. I think it is great to inspire people to think this
way about blindness. The only problem is that for someone like me who can no
longer live the life that I want to live. It seems as though there is really
nothing more I can do than to accept things for what they really are rather
than how I wish they could be.

I think it was nice for Arielle to mention people who cannot read Braille
well because they learned it as adults rather than as children. However, at
least most of them still have a mind that is capable of learning Braille, or
anything else they wish to learn in life. But when you happen to have a mind
that just does not seem to work right anymore, there does not seem to be a
whole lot that you can do about it except to learn how to accept it as being
a part of your life. However, learning to accept this as a part of your life
also seems to include giving up on the dreams you once had before your mind
decided to stop working the way that it once did.

I really wish I could find some way to describe what I am going through with
others so that perhaps someone else might be able to understand. However,
the closest thing I have been able to find is something that is just labeled
as some stupid euphemism that really does not exist by a past leader within
our organization. With attitudes like this I really wonder if there is
really anything that can be done about it so that maybe I might still be
able to live the life that I want.

Warm regards,
Elizabeth




-----Original Message-----
From: Anjelina [mailto:anjelinac at att.net] 
Sent: Saturday, July 12, 2014 6:47 PM
To: Elizabeth Mohnke; National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Feeling Inadequate After National Convention?

Hi elizabeth,
Thank you for being bold enough to post your thoughts and feelings to the
list. Yo uare not alone in feeling inferior after hearing convention
speeches. Arielle has given great advice. Having more than just blindness is
not always the easiest to contend with, but if we are the best we can be
that is all that matters.
I know personally I felt a bit inadiquate after listening to some of the
speakers but afterward I tried to identify what it was about them that I
lacked. I will set small goals for myself this year such as trying to get
more involved in my local chapter or even contributing on list more even
though I am not as eloquent as many list members. :) You are not alone in
how you feel and this is a great place to come for support. Is there
anything I or the list can help you with? Was there a particular speech
which made you feel less than?


-Anjelina
Sent from my iPad

> On Jul 12, 2014, at 5:29 PM, Elizabeth Mohnke via nabs-l
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hello All,
> 
> I hope everyone who attended the national convention this year had a 
> great time in Orlando. I understand attending a national convention 
> can be a rather inspiring event in the life of someone who is blind. 
> However, as I was listening to the online stream of the national 
> convention this year, I found myself feeling the complete opposite.
> 
> Instead of feeling inspired and hopeful for the future, I found myself 
> feeling rather defeated and inadequate. As I was listening to the 
> speaches from various leaders within the NFB, I found myself thinking 
> how lucky they must be that the only disability they have to deal with 
> in their lives was there blindness. I was thinking about how easy it 
> must be fore someone who is only blind, and how more difficult it is 
> for someone who has another disability in addition to being blind.
> 
> Now perhaps this may be a bit too personal to post to the email list, 
> but I was just curious if anyone else has ever felt this way, and if 
> so, what did you do to deal with these kinds of feelings? I would 
> greatly appreciate hearing from anyone who has ever dealt with this kind
of issue before.
> 
> Thanks,
> Elizabeth
> 
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