I Never Noticed The Impact I Could Have

A little while ago, I had an interesting conversation that got me thinking about the idea of having an impact on people without even recognizing it. The conversation took place on the bus when I was just heading back from class. I heard someone call my name, and I turned around to find a girl that I used to work with at my previous job.

I was excited to see her since I hadn’t talked to her in a while, and we spent some time during that bus ride catching up on life. I started telling her about my experience here at Blind Beginnings, and all the amazing opportunities I have had through becoming a youth leader. I was in the midst of talking about how amazing it feels to educate others on blindness, and she sort of gave a pause after I finished my sentence. I asked her if everything was all right, and she gave a response that kind of took me aback. “I’m not surprised at all. You did that just by being yourself back when we used to work together.”

I asked her what she meant by that, and she went on to tell me that meeting me was her first interaction with a blind person, and seeing how I lived my life really changed many of her perceptions of how blind people are. She apologized for having some stereotypical ideas of disability, mostly surrounding the idea that persons with disabilities wouldn’t be able to live independent and fulfilling lives. She continued by thanking me for being so open with everyone and answering questions about my blindness, and giving her the opportunity to learn about something she wasn’t privy to before.

I walked away from that interaction with a new perspective on myself. I never realized that, just by being myself, I could have an impact on how an individual sees blindness. I always thought that I accomplished that through choosing to educate others. That interaction told me that by living my life with a no-limits philosophy, I have an impact not just on me, but on those who get the opportunity to meet me as well.

by Ishita