[nabs-l] The Importance Of Independent Travel
Carly Mihalakis
carlymih at comcast.net
Mon Sep 1 16:45:59 UTC 2014
Hi, Kirt,
Brain damage really is a son of a bitch and it
used to drive me nuts, because, aside from
pushing yourself to put in an amount of self
motivation appropriate for your stage of
recovery, and applying some personal drive, until
your brain has rebuilt the necessary connections,
the sufferer reallly is out of control of his accomplishment.
Furthermore, even if some "progress" is made, it
remains impossible to quantify. In fact, it used
to bug the hell out of me not being able to see
that I was, in fact, making something resembling
progress since it was so slow, I couldn't see it, so egoistic was I!
Upon Upon first coming home to my parent's
house from the hospital where I languished for 9
months (including a 3-month coma) , for example,
among my personal tasks for which I needed to
apply some determination was among other things,
cooperating when my Mom presided over teaching me
to crawl, then making it through the night
without wetting my diaper, then
later cooporating in the little brain rehab
class in which my peers and I did little
exercises, among which was keeping a running log
book of daily happenings to practice recalling
how you spent your time and of course, not being
able to read braille, or type, necessitated my
daily experiences be dictated, something to which I would need to get used.
What I'm saying is that your progress, generally
speaking, is fixed by your wounded brain. All you
can do is push yourself, not accepting the status
quo as your normal. Aside from that, there ain't
a whole helova lot you can do in terms of accomplishment.
During the time I was at the CCB, there was a
student there, Andre, who also was brain damaged
and, at the time, I was a pretty out of control
18-year-old. I saw Andre as being a blind guy
with mysterious "other" problems. In fact, I got
hurt while still living in Colorado and my Mom
consulted with Andre for a crash course in brain
damage101. Yet, aside from that , and that of
course, all brain damage, like all shades of
blindness are in no way created equal, it has,
then, been touch and go, wait and see what happens.
So, I really dig this, Kirt, my brother in blastoma!
Car
things and expanding my skills. I'm actually
happier when I'm slightly uncomfortable, both in
the ways you and Steve are using the word. If
your optimal position on that spectrum is
different than mine who am I to judge, be little
or invalidate you and your experiences? I can't
do that without becoming a hypocrite
So again
I'm slightly puzzlled as to why you seem to be
trying to apply your experiences and
circumstances to our own lives. Just because you
are happier and more at peace with yourself when
you "let it go"and don't compare yourself with
other people does not mean we are all the same as
you in that regard. I don't think my personality
makes me better or worse than yours, it just
makes me different
but speaking from persoonal
experience, I am actually a happier and better
adjusted person when I compare myself, in
moderation, two people with abilities,
opportunities and life circumstances similar to
mine. As long as I don't go overboard with it it
helps me push myself harder to learn new things
and sharpen the knowledge I already have and,
given my personality, this is probably the single
greatest factor in improving my happiness and
personal well-being. Still, I would never even
think to try and tell you to live like I do
because, as far as I can tell, our personalities
are not the same at all in this regard. In some
situations you're easy-going acceptance of
yourself probably ends up being an advantage over
my Constant hunger to learn and become more
similarly, in other situations, my personality is
aalmost certainly better equipped than yours
would be. This being the case, I wonder why you
give such broad and generic advice to people who
you have probably never even met in person? Do
you want the world to be full of people who think
and act like you? Best, Kirt Sent from my
iPhone > On Sep 1, 2014, at 8:20 AM, Yadiel
Sotomayor via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
wrote: > > I don’t think comparing yourself
with your self is a bad thing. I do it all the
time. It removes all the barriers. Will a sighted
me go on the airport alone? Yes? Then why I
don’t give it a try. Will a sighted me learn
Python? Yes? Then why not give it a try. Will a
sighted me walk to the corner store in an area
without sidewalks? Yes? Then why not me. See
where I’m going with this? It is not a matter
of getting depressed, and trust me, I know about
depression. Being clinically depressed myself. It
is a matter of, if I weren’t blind, will I be
doing this? If the answer is yes, then why the
blind me can’t do it? I want to be the best
freaking person I can possibly can. That involves
me putting myself in very uncomfortable
situations. But I am glad for it. >> On Sep 1,
2014, at 10:06 AM, Carly Mihalakis via nabs-l
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote: >> >> Good morning,
Jedi, >> >> After a sobering realization of
being rendered brain damaged, I realized
gradually, an ebbing and flowing of the manner
in which I learn new things. What's more, this
state, according to what I was hearing would be
permanent, irreversible. I had to slowly realize
I could no longer "measure" myself to people who
are "blessed" with a round of just blindness, on
the rocks. There is now more going on within my
particular bag of problems. I am
"multi-handicapped." >> >> As time went on and I
hooked up with a man who is studying special
education, he showed me how what others do, and
how they do it, is their thing alone. I need not
measure myself to anybody else. >> >> Also,
there's this Sociology professor at my junior
college, whom I really admire, she showed me how
most things aren't really real, they're mere
human construct. And, comp airing myself to what
I thought I saw others doing, is just an egoistic
(meaning about myself), construct. >> Today, I
have let that shit go. It's unhealthy, will make
you more depressed, will turn your self-concept
to certain ruin. Let it go! >> for today,
Car >> >> say similarly situated, I mean that
this hypothetical individual has all of the same
abilities and challenges that I do except that
this person can see. If this hypothetical person
wouldn't do it, then it's probably not safe. If
this hypothetical person would do it, then I
probably need to buck up and do it. Because there
are more seeing people then blind people, it's
usually pretty easy to come up with examples of
similarly situated sighted people who are doing
most all of the things I think I can't do. I also
think about the other blind people I know. If
they are out there doing it and they are pretty
similar to me in most ways, I think it's safe to
say that I should afford myself the same
opportunity. The trick is to make sure that
blindness, or any other so-called disability,
presents an opportunity for growth rather than an
excuse. >> >>> Respectfully, >>> Jedi >>> >>>
Sent from my iPhone >>> >>>> On Aug 31, 2014, at
2:31 PM, Steve Jacobson via nabs-l
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote: >>>> >>>>
Carly, >>>> >>>> What concerns me sometimes about
discussions like this is that there are really
two separate factors, in my opinion. The first
is that we do have to recognize that we are not
all built the same. We don't all have >>>> the
same abilities or the same disabilities. There
is no guarantee that two people with the same
disability will be able to accomplish everything
with the same degree of success. Therefore, we
have to take some >>>> care to encourage one
another rather than judge one another. >>>> >>>>
The second factor, though is that of comfort. To
say that people should just do what is
comfortable sets off alarms for me, but obviously
you may have a different meaning for
"comfort." There isn't one thing that >>>> I
have ever learned that didn't bring with it a bit
of discomfort when I learned it. As I said in an
earlier note, crossing a street was certainly not
comfortable for me at first, and neither was
learning to cook. So how >>>> do we know when we
should avoid doing something because we are not
comfortable with it or whether our discomfort is
because we just haven't learned how to do it
yet? I am interested to know what you >>>>
think. >>>> >>>> Best regards, >>>> >>>> Steve
Jacobson >>>> >>>>> On Sun, 31 Aug 2014 05:38:28
-0700, Carly Mihalakis via nabs-l
wrote: >>>>> >>>>> Good morning,
Arielle, >>>> >>>>> Seems to me, a given
situation as well as the traveler's level
of >>>>> comfort ought to call for however one
needs to travel. THAT'S all I >>>>> was seeking
to say. If in fact, you are most comfortable as
you >>>>> repeat dutifully to go where you want,
when you want, then do that! >>>>> Just do what
you feel. >>>>> Car >>>> >>>>> 8/28/2014, Arielle
Silverman via nabs-l wrote: >>>>>> Hi Carly and
all, >>>>>> >>>>>> Again, for me traveling
independently has absolutely nothing to do >>>>>>
with proving a point to sighted people. I travel
independently because >>>>>> it is most
convenient for me, for others or both. I like
being able to >>>>>> go somewhere when I want
instead of waiting on people. And I don't >>>>>>
like inconveniencing others when I can do
something myself. It's not >>>>>> "super-blink"
to utilize the same natural right of
independent >>>>>> movement that everyone else in
the world gets as a matter of
course. >>>>>> >>>>>> Respectfully, >>>>>>
Arielle >>>>>> >>>>>>> On 8/28/14, Kirt via
nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote: >>>>>>>
Karlee, >>>>>>> In general, I trust members of a
group to advocate that group >>>>>> standards
more >>>>>>> than, say, disillusioned outsiders.
I'm not going to learn about Islam, for >>>>>>>
example, from an evangelical Christian. Nor will
I go to Sean Hannity or >>>>>>> Rush Limbaugh to
learn about The policies of Barack Obama. For
that matter, >>>>>>> I won't go to MSNBC to learn
about the tea party. I think you see where
I'm >>>>>>> going with this. >>>>>>>
Best, >>>>>>> Kirt >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Sent from my
iPhone >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> On Aug 28, 2014, at 5:45
AM, Carly Mihalakis via nabs-l >>>>>>>>
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote: >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Good
morning, >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Personally, I like to
think of it as interdependent travel, recruting
your >>>>>>>> fellow man, and sort of directing
him where you need to go. Admittedly, >>>>>>>>
this means of travel found me after becoming
injured such that I was >>>>>>>> unable to keep
track of direction and what they call rout
reversal, became >>>>>>>> for me no more than a
pipe dream. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> In my experience,
however, if you just let go of this idea that to
prove >>>>>>>> to Ol'Sighty of blindness'
being what is it, little more than a
mere >>>>>>>> inconvenience, everyone must be
some kind of super blink whom, by simply >>>>>>>>
waving his long, white cane can travel any
course, under any circumstances >>>>>>>> in pitch
ocular darkness. Sure, this social construct is
certainly >>>>>>>> possible to live within and
many people do it, but not everybody is
super >>>>>>>> Federationist
blink! >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> After all, interpersonal
contact, I believe, is more of a
palpable, >>>>>>>> alternative to demonstrating
to Ol'Sighty things of which most of us
are >>>>>>>> capable, that Ol'Sighty might
remember. I'm fond of iterating that >>>>>>>>
Ol'Sighty cares not about the means to which the
blink reaches the same >>>>>>>> ends, noticing
only that, eventually he gets there. So, if it
becomes a >>>>>>>> matter of walking through an
airport, say, to demonstrate to
Ol'Sighty >>>>>>>> ways in which most blinks can,
and do advocate for themselves, it may be
a >>>>>>>> plausible course of action to grab
Ol'Sighty from one of the hoards that >>>>>>>>
are invariably around and, placing your hand on
his shoulder, tell him >>>>>>>> where you need to
be and see if he can help you. Of course, should
he be >>>>>>>> in a hurry you can find someone
else, but wait for an indication of said >>>>>>>>
sighted person being unable to help. It is in
this way you can actually >>>>>>>> have a
conversation with a sighted person, maybe even
exchange names? >>>>>>>> Agreed, the super blink
means of seamlessly gliding through a crowd
is >>>>>>>> intimidating, and not exactly if I
may say so myself, realistic of every >>>>>>>>
blink. Let that go! Probably, you are not a super
blink, at least by their >>>>>>>> rigid
standards. >>>>>>>> for today, Car >>>>>>>>
408-209-3239 >>>>>>>> :52 AM 7/16/2014, Roanna
Bacchus via nabs-l wrote: >>>>>>>>> Dear
Students, >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> I'd like to discuss
another topic with all of you. On Monday I had
a >>>>>>>>> conversation with my mobility
instructor during my training session
at >>>>>>>>> UCF. We were talking about the
importance of traveling independently
as >>>>>>>>> blind individuals. I got very
emotional while we were having this >>>>>>>>>
conversation and began to cry. Because I've
never traveled independently >>>>>>>>> in the
community, I lack the experience of traveling on
my own. Can each >>>>>>>>> of you tell me your
stories about inarependent travel? Hope to hear
from >>>>>>>>> you soon. >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>
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