Hello shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! Today I am doing something different and it is also thanks to one of my fave podcasts!

Blindness Is Never Ending!

So, I was listening to Life after Sight Loss and Mr. Derek Daniel was talking about how sight loss is never ending. I know there are treatments out there but it does not mean it will be ending that soon. Yes. We have AIRA, E-Sight, and other glasses with cameras and new gene therapy but new people are coming into the world of sight loss in many ways which includes being blind from birth, an accident, or even having a developing disease that grows over time like mine. Besides that, he did tell some of his sight loss stories and I want to share mine.

I wrote The Blind Perspective: Convention Stories from the Dark which told some of my experiences as a convention attendee turning press with my sighted days to blindness. I have done a lot of things besides being a convention goer too which included being a college student, a Hadley Institute student and here are some of those stories and some of the feelings that went with it and ay include mine.

Grateful: First, Derek mentioned gratitude and what I feel grateful for is being able to learn different topics and skills through Hadley Institute ore the years. Without Hadley, I would not have been able to learn Braille and now finishing up Self-Esteem & Adjusting to Blindness since I am trying to me an Assistive Tech Instructor and this is helping me improve. Another thing is being able to have a work experience in Daytona at their Rehab Center. It gave me the spring board to get into teaching even with is tech. And the last thing that I was grateful and still grateful to this day is doing press for Omni Fandom Expo. How so? Well, they were the first con to discover this blog and ask for press all thanks to a small typo I made. It gave us great opportunities to sit down with guests like Brian Beacock, Lauren Landa, Paul St. Peter and even now Derek Steven Prince to ask them about their work. Don’t worry, you will see that interview soon!
Anger: Yes, I may be happy-go-lucky but I had my moments of anger and that dealt with how people didn’t see my cane back in my university days. I was always mad when people ran into me, almost ran over my cane tip with their bikes, I was lucky that none of them ran me over, and even luckier to dodge two golf carts that Security drove! WTH guys! You should be keeping the campus safe not to run over someone who’s blind. That got me to have my cane sprayed neon green and that helped.
Surprise: Since things take place in my life, I did get surprised by one thing is finding descriptive audio at the movie theater and the movie I started with was Dead Pool! I was not expecting it because I did hear that some movie theaters were implementing it and was worried Regal Cinemas wasn’t and when the manager at the one near me asked about it, I was surprised and glad to have it! It was very detailed and it got me to using it from there on out, the only one I had a hard time hearing was the one for Guardians 2 due to how hard everyone, including me, were laughing and we were next to the speakers. I can’t wait for Infinite War!
Embarrassment: Another aspect is that we’re not always perfect since we do make mistakes and feel embarrassed by it. One moment would have to go to when I used the Men’s bathroom twice in one day! I was trying to take an exam at Student Disabilities on campus and the bathrooms next to it were in a dark alcove before they moved to an easier to get to location in the same plaza area and I thought I was using the Women’s room. This was before my Braille reading was good enough to read Grade 2 and well when a guy came in, I knew something was wrong and asked, “Is this a men’s room?” And heard, “Yeah!” I thought, S&*@! And finished and left. Another embarrassing moment which I was able to use my mobility skills was where I opened a bottle of Vanilla Coke and it exploded all over my arm and this happened during Omni 2016. I had to run to the bathroom and cleaned myself off and then had to find my way back to the Gaming Room where Gondras and Nerdy Shirts were. And of course, that same time, I accidentally had my cat tail in the toilet which I am glad to wear a shorter one now and double check that it won’t go in.
Happiness: There’s many things that make me happy and one big thing is…cats! I know it sounds obvious due to how our logo is a cat’s paw and I make my cat sounds and even have cartoon kitty minions running around. Cats have been my major thing since I was little actually. I remembered having a white cat when I was around five and was sad that my mom gave it back to the owner that gave it away with other cats. So, that is why I still love cats and cat characters to this day. Yes, Gondras and I will have our own kitty!
Sadness: Even though there are happy times but there are sad times too. I would have to say is that when I graduated from college? Yes, it was a relief but at the same time I felt sad that I left because it was a huge thing for me to accomplish and a part of my life. Yes, it took me ten years to finish college but it was worth it…
Regret: Which I have to add this to things I regret doing. What is that? Well, listening to my counselor at the time when I was placed into my writing minor. I wanted to be a blind services counselor myself since I understood what it’s like to be blind and able to help them and give them advice if I have someone going to college. I wished I did continue my Exceptional Education Minor in order to go to Grad School to do Counseling but that counselor thought I wouldn’t pass Grad School because it’s “too hard.” My Bachelor’s and Minor were hard because I almost failed Theory of Creative Writing when I started my writing minor. I wished I kept going!
Redemption: Since I felt regret for not continuing due to my interests, I feel like I am redeeming myself by becoming an Assistive Tech Specialist and the best start is by going back to school. I have started the application process to get my Grad Certificate and hoping to get into Norther Arizona’s online program for it. Yes, I do appreciate having my Bachelor’s and Minor now but I feel like with how hard it is to get a job as a blind person, try looking for the past three years without anything, it was time for a change. I feel like it’s time to forgive myself and prove that I can get that certificate!
Inspiring: If you have read my Omni Fandom Expo review from this year, I have become an inspiration to my sighted peers. Yes, it’s weird to be an inspiration to sighted people but I can see why. I did ask people about it to help write something for the Braille Monitor and what people love the most about me is my perseverance because I don’t give up anything and also I don’t want to give up on anyone which happen to be my friends, especially when I feel like one door closes I find a way of opening a new one to keep going with my dreams. As a blind person, it feels like we have to give up on things due to our blindness but there are times where we have to pick ourselves up and push aside the negativity to keep on going. You know how much I was ticked about not going forward in keep going with my original dream? Well, it gave me a new one. And another thing to feel inspiring is that I do things to represent the blind community and that is my freelance press stuff. Yes, I need help with visual things like video and photography but it doesn’t mean I can’t keep going with it. When I dawn that press badge, I feel great that I’m working for another con or another year at one!
WTF!? Yeah, I have to include this because I did remember going through one major moment and that is hearing someone that they were wishing to be blind like me. I know it sounds screwed up but blindness is not the best solution because there are hardships when it comes to being blind even when you’re going through times of re-learning the skills but through a different light so to speak. I had to learn how to make eggs again as a blind person to use as an example. When I heard that, I did confront the person and well they did deny what they said which I felt my friendship with them is something not worth keeping if they are going to feel that way, heck they were even ignorant when it came to my blindness years back. I am not sure what had happened to him but hoping things go for the best for him.

Well, those are my experiences when it comes to having vision loss and the adjectives to go with those experiences. Even though it is hard to be blind, I did say I have to learn many skills differently, I’m able to survive as a blind person. What I want you guys to take away from this is that don’t look down on us or feel sorry for us because that we can’t see. We have a new way of living life and still learning how to live it. Heck, I’m trying to expand my cooking skills as time goes on and about to finish up customer service training at the moment. All I have to say is just think of us as still human and help when we ask for it or just hang with us because you will learn something new.

That is it for this post! I’m glad to share some of what I went through with you all. If you want to check out Derek Daniel’s podcast, I highly recommend and will link to his website so you can check it out and how to get it on your own portable devices that play podcasts. I will also link you guys to The Blind Perspective because it does show my convention experiences. So, what’s next? I will do my next Coastal Scents look and get my The Blind Perspective: Convention Stories from the DarkLife After Sight Lossinterview with Derek Steven Prince up! Until next time!