Having other people label me as “normal” based on my appearance is an everyday occurrence. I mean come on, what the hell is normal anyways?
My days are standard. I get up every morning, practice my daily ritual of personal hygiene, enhance my features with a touch of makeup, style my hair, and pick out some simple yet- stylish pieces of clothing and go about my day.
Now, can those tasks be a little complicated sometimes? Sure, I have my blind moments. Like using lotion for toothpaste (not as bad as I thought), backwards shirts, or my personal favorite: spraying perfume right.in.my.eyes. But I get the job done.
The infamous cliché saying: “Don’t judge a book by its cover” stands so true in my list of sappy quotes. Thankfully, losing my vision allowed me to put that saying into action.
Let me enlighten you on how sighted people and the world in general can open their minds while letting go of stereotypes involving the blind/visually impaired.
Here are 5 common assumptions people tell me when they discover I am a VIP (visually impaired person).
Blindness and attractiveness doesn’t go together
First of all ouch, not nice. I'm trying to practice self love here.I may not be fully sighted but that doesn’t mean I don’t know how to navigate a straightener, coordinate an outfit, or apply some makeup. It’s like I’m not allowed to enjoy shopping either. Unfortunately, the world is under the impression that less sighted individuals aren’t capable of managing our appearance and expressing ourselves in visual ways. How silly of anyone to assume or think that.
You’re not blind if you don’t have a cane or a guide dog
False. I’ve mentioned that blindness is a spectrum many times here on my posts and I will continue to say it. Some forms of blindness result in low vision (a condition by eye disease, in which visual acuity is 20/70 or poorer in the better-seeing eye and cannot be corrected or improved with glasses). With that being said, that leaves a good chunk of usable vision and some people won’t necessarily need to use a cane or guide dog during certain times. For me, depth perception can be tricky and my cane can come in handy during darker hours of the day or even used for identification purposes. As for individuals with guide dogs, for the sake of crowded areas and other circumstances some may opt to keep them at home. No two visually impaired people are alike.
My eyes look fine
Um, no. If my eyes appearing to look healthy was a representation of how I actually see, well then sign me up for 20/20 vision. Certain diseases can effect the eye in physical ways such as shaking, cloudiness, and lack of eye muscles. My disease is known to attack the inside of my eyes (which you can’t see). Blind central takes place in my macula where my rods and cones are actually dead or currently dying. So, judging from the appearance of my eyes is a big fat no-no.
I’m too happy and social to be blind
Well, I guess I’m supposed to be in some kind of negative state the rest of my life? In my community we laugh, joke, share milestones, and live our lives to the fullest despite our circumstances. In my broken eyes, there are no excuses when it comes to happiness and if something isn’t making you happy, change it. As far as being social, I enjoy meeting new people and socializing, a trait that doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with my vision.
I’m just faking it
This is an assumption that makes me question the other person more than life itself. This is not a drill either, plenty of people have the impression that I am full of it. At this point it sort of makes me laugh and understand that they do follow stereotypes. I have been given so many resources and tools to help me be successful. Braille, mobility, my cane and support groups. In actuality the world is blind.
So here is to the invisible disabilities and hurdles that the world is blind to. Just because you can't see it, doesn’t mean its not there.
"A disability doesn't have to be a social barrier. Good etiquette begins with inclusion, not exclusion." Robert M. Hensel
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