Hello Everyone, Welcome to The Invisible Vision Project’s Blog.

Today is a very important day, it is a special day that is worth celebrating.

Six months ago, I made a decision to go through the transition to live as a Visually Impaired Person. It was a decision that is necessary: because my vision has deteriorated dramatically over the years from living with multiple eye conditions.

In the summer of 2015, I was diagnosed with Degenerative Myopia, This condition is a pathological form of myopia, in which is an extremely high amount of nearsightedness that causes major alternation of the shape of the eye, which leads to profound vision loss.

I had to make many adjustments as a result of my vision loss. I learned how to use Low Vision aids and adaptive technologies, as they helped me make better use of my remaining vision. I learned how to use a White Cane to travel safely and independently. Recently, I am learning Braille, because it is so useful for blind and partially sighted people.

One of the most challenging part of the transition was acceptance. Accepting my  vision loss, and accepting me as a visually impaired person was extremely difficult. A lesson that I’ve learned through this process of acceptance was that it does not come overnight. Acceptance need both time and patience.

The second challenge I had was learning to use the White Cane. The reason that this was so difficult was because I took so long in accepting the fact that I needed the cane. I was very afraid, because I didn’t want to be penalized for “pretending” to be visually impaired. I also had a lot of worries: I worried about how my family and friend would react if I have a cane; I worried about the social stigmas on people with disabilities. But, what I neglected the most was my own feelings-I didn’t give myself the chance to ask myself how I feel about all of this; since all of my worries were on other people.

Finally, I was able to walk out of the fear that I had on my vision loss. I was able make the right decision to use the White Cane without worrying about how others think of me. Now, I am working toward a goal as I share my experience and journey with my vision loss. I wish to become an advocate, to educate others, to be a voice, and to reduce the social stigmas on people with disabilities, and to help those who are still struggling in accepting their vision loss and other shortcomings that they may have.

“Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations”

By: The Invisible Vision Project