Hello Everyone,

Welcome to The Invisible Vision Project’s Blog.

In today’s blog, it is about other people’s perspective on my Vision Loss acceptance journey, and also my response to a comment that they made. Now, I have learned so much about other people’s opinion or perspective don’t matter, especially when their opinion isn’t a helpful or a supportive one. However, I believe, certain opinions are made not necessarily out of being unhelpful, but because people are simply uneducated or unaware of a certain issue or situation.

Through a recent conversation I had with a family member, I found out that there are people in my family that felt sorry for me and my Vision Loss. And especially, for the fact that I now have to rely on a cane (which is my white cane) to get around.

To be honest, I was a little puzzled with this kind of comment at the start. However, this comment also wasn’t said directly to my face, so it’s hard to know what people said in their exact words. Here, something else that’s important to note is that when this comment was made, it wasn’t said in a harmful or negative way, in fact, the comment was made because they really do care about me. Also, whatever the exact words were said in that comment doesn’t really matter, what matters is that I think the way how they see my Vision Loss, they (probably) also might have thought that I see it in the same way, which to me, that would be a problem, because I really don’t see it that way at all. And, I think that the people that make such a comment also have a very black and white perspective about Vision Loss, and that doesn’t help them understand what it really means to be blind.

If you’ve been following my blogs or have heard me speak about my journey with Vision Loss, or you know me in person, you probably already know that I didn’t suddenly lose my vision, and, when I use the word “blind” that’s just because I am now legally blind. I know that the transition I made to accept my Vision Loss was a sudden one, because I basically went from having never ever used any assistive technology or a white cane prior to the transition to start using all of the tools that could aid and help me cope with my deteriorating vision, all in a matter of one month, getting use to this change. And, the reason for this sudden change is because when I discovered the degree of progressiveness of my vision loss at the eye doctor’s office in the summer of 2015, at that moment, I knew I couldn’t deny or escape from this situation any longer; and I need to make some necessary life changes, because that’s the only way to regain my confidence and independence back.

So, to all of those out there that feel sorry for my blindness, please don’t be. Don’t feel sorry that I need to use assistive technology. Don’t feel sorry that I need to use a white cane. Don’t feel sorry that I’m legally blind, and I might still be losing more of my remaining vision as I get older. And especially, don’t feel sorry for my life. Even though I don’t have a perfect eye sight, I still love and enjoy life. I can only live a confident and independent life because of all the support and tools I now have. I don’t feel sorry for myself because I am blind. Somehow, I feel sorry that this world is still so inaccessible one. I also feel sorry for those that aren’t educated enough about people with disabilities, and couldn’t see the full potentials or the capability and strength of someone who is differently abled. But I know, all of this is starting to change, people are becoming more inclusive and aware of the importance of equity, diversity and inclusion. Keep up with the good work because there is still more work to be done!

With all that being said, it concludes today’s blog and my thoughts. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it.

By: The Invisible Vision Project