[stylist] Check out my blog

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

Jackie,

It is incredible to have people to turn to for advice and support.  The
NFB provides this outlet, and it gives us a stepping stone in which we
support and challenge one another.  We all learn at different paces and
in different ways, and I can't begin to explain how helpful this journey
has been knowing so many are out there living their lives, doing things
every day.

I don't believe our ability to function is a miracle of any kind.  One
lesson I've learned in the last eight years is that blindness is not as
life-altering as we think, and we have the potential to do pretty much
anything, we may just use different tools and methods to accomplish
things at times.

The more we show the world that being blind is not less of a way to
live, but just a different way, the more society will accept us as
equals, and not pity us just because we can't see.

I'm not outputting information that has been spoon fed to me, but I'm
sharing what I have experienced first-hand.  I was fully sighted for 22
years so there certainly was an adjustment period for me especially
since I lost my vision from a viral infection.  But once I adjusted and
learned different alternative skills, I moved forward with little
resistance due to my blindness.

I'm still learning, and I still need to be challenged at times.  I'm
still learning to seize each opportunity that comes my way, and not live
in fear of the unknown.  This is easier said than done.  *grin*  I do
not think my ability to function, to accomplish things, is a miracle
though.  I do believe in miracles- I've experienced circumstances that
can only be explained as a miracle, but our potential, as people who
happen to be blind, is not a miracle.  We simply make a choice to move
forward and  strive to reach that potential.

Will I ever be a nuclear physicist or biochemical engineer?  Probably
not, but those who do pursue similar routes as a blind person are not
accomplishing a miracle- they just have the capacity to intellectually
understand these subjects, and choose to attempt to follow a career in
these fields- just like a sighted person with the same interest and same
intellectual capacity would.

We may have limitations due to our health or our ability to comprehend
information or physically (not related to blindness) but we learn at our
own pace to accomplish daily task and bigger goals, but it is no more a
miracle than those doing the same things but with sight.

Computers and technology in general are not my forte.  My brain is not
wired to fully grasp much information about technology, and I do not
learn simply by reading something.  I have to be hands-on to truly
learn.  Learn I did though.  The more I used different pieces of
technology like my computer, the better I became at using it.  I know
you will become more and more efficient, and soon it will be second
nature when using your computer.

I wish training centers would customize their process a bit more since
we know people learn differently, but nonetheless, if we work hard and
put our minds to the task, we can learn the tools and methods that allow
us to do most anything nonvisually.

I hope this post doesn't come across as a criticism because I don't mean
it to at all.  I just firmly believe we need to adjust our mindsets to
understand that there is nothing miraculous about people using
computers, or anything else, nonvisually.  I don't completely understand
how a blind person does the task of a doctor, and yet there are
currently practicing blind doctors.  It is cool that methods and devices
have been developed that allow a blind person to practice medicine, but
I don't view it as a miracle.  This is what I see as wrong with society.
They think everything we do is amazing and that we are just walking
miracles when we are simply doing what any normal person does, but just
nonvisually.

I appreciate those who have come before, and I know we all face
challenges as we learn and adjust to being blind, but I truly believe we
are equal to those without sight.  This is the message I hope to instill
in others.

So I'm trying to be encouraging and say you can and will grow more
comfortable with using tools like a screenreader on your computer.
There is nothing miraculous about it.  We learn how to use something
like a computer just like anyone else except we learn nonvisually, and
in most cases, there is nothing less efficient or more difficult to
learn nonvisually than with sight.

We may as an individual meet obstacles in our learning process because
of a lack of comprehension, or not enough information, but I do not
believe this is because of our blindness.  I would be just as clueless
about technology sighted as I am blind.  I always struggled with math
even when sighted- I'm the same person, but I've learned to deal with my
mental limitations nonvisually just as I learned to deal with them when
I was sighted.

I hope we all continue to challenge one another, and learn, as well as
lead, by example.  I believe we all have the ability to grow and learn,
though we will meet unique obstacles in the process due to our
individual personalities and levels of understanding.  Keep working on
your goals, and know that we all have been there.  We continue to meet
challenges and often must work hard, but being blind does not keep us
from most things.  We are no more a miracle than anyone else.

Bridgit

Message: 2
Date: Mon, 27 Jun 2011 10:21:43 -0700
From: "Jacqueline Williams" <jackieleepoet at cox.net>
To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [stylist] Check out my blog
Message-ID: <9641BA1BCA50450BB5C8F5497E7B9160 at JackiLeePoet>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

Bridget,
The most helpful thing you said to me was about how being blind had
actually made you better at using the computer. When I just read about
the new website number 2, I felt it beyond my reach to understand and
use.  In the back of all of you who apparently have such diverse ways of
being blind, I realize all of you have started where you were and are
accomplishing small miracles every day. Thank you. Jackie