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#MyBlindStory

  1. Mission: Live Life Fully, Make a Difference, and Redefine Possible

    May 17, 2017 - By Tim Conners A.K.A. Tim Possible

    With an amazing team of individuals, I am setting off as a blind cancer survivor the day after I graduate from college on May 22nd to climb the highest mountain in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro. In the process, my team is working on raising $500,000 for charities and organizations that not only saved my life, but gave me the strength and the tools to start living again. I realize that the amount of support I had greatly contributed to my success, and I want to make sure children facing life threatening…

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  2. Changing the World, One Person at a Time

    May 10, 2017 - By Sarah Clark

    I was 17 years old when I was told that the life I had planned for myself was simply not possible. I was sitting in an ophthalmology exam room after hours of testing, waiting to get answers. I was very aware that my vision was not normal. I had been wearing glasses since I was in first grade, and every year when I visited the optometrist, they told me I needed a stronger prescription. I had told numerous people, both in school and at home that I could not see…

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  3. Thank you for helping us build a BlindNewWorld!

    May 5, 2017 - By The BlindNewWorld team

    One year ago, we launched BlindNewWorld with a specific mission: break down barriers to inclusion for blind and low vision people in the workplace, community and education. This year has been incredible. We started a movement among people ready to change the way they see blindness – and we have raised awareness by sharing so many of your stories. Here are just a few of the highlights: We created a community – and it keeps growing… We built a community of almost 75,000 followers and have reached 50 million people,…

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  4. Stand by Me RP

    May 3, 2017 - By Dave Steele

    My story began three years ago when, at the age of 38, I was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa. My life changed forever that day and it was the start of the biggest challenge my family had ever faced. Within the first week of my diagnosis I was declared severely sight impaired (legally blind) and lost my job after being told I’d never drive again. We were plunged in to debt and I fell in to a spiral of anxiety, depression and isolation as my sight began to decline rapidly. We…

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  5. Beginning to an End

    April 26, 2017 - By Jamie Gibson-Barrows

    My name is Jamie. I wrote the poem below several years ago. It reflects my experience when I was diagnosed with RP (Retinitis Pigmentosa). I have come a long way since the diagnosis and have embraced my new life with little sight. I have since retired from a job of 28 years. New doors have opened within the blind community. I volunteer and am working part time at a blind center in my area. I am attending city college for the first time in my life and a member of…

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  6. The Difference Between Them

    April 19, 2017 - By Marilyn Walter

    I just happened to come across the BlindNewWorld campaign and I loved hearing the call for creating opportunities where the sighted and the blind can socialize with each other. I am an artist working in West Palm Beach, Florida. I am not blind, but as I am getting older I am finding myself depending on a stronger prescription for my glasses. This has had me thinking about different ways we communicate and how technology has been changing our lives. I have created several art projects using social media text words…

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  7. Spectacular BeSpecular

    April 12, 2017 - By Christopher Venter

    The number one wish that all blind people have is to be as independent as possible in our daily tasks. Tasks that may seem simple to a sighted person can be next to impossible for a blind person without seeking help. Reading the label on food stuffs, without unnecessarily opening and spoiling the contents, for example, can be so frustrating. No matter how many times I ‘will’ my sense of smell to tell the difference between the contents of two cans, there is always a 50% chance I will open…

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  8. It Was All a Blur

    April 5, 2017 - By Kerry Kijewski

    I sit at breakfast, listening to all my new friends talking happily around me and drinking their coffee, all such talented and compassionate writers I’ve come to know over the last few days of this writing workshop – but something is wrong. I am far from home and having the week of a lifetime, a transformative experience really, but I’m having one of my bad eye days and it’s only adding to all the emotions being here has brought to the surface. I cannot see the colours of this place,…

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  9. Afraid of the Dark

    March 29, 2017 - By Jona Barrientez

    I remember, when I was young, being afraid of the dark. I recall running into my parents’ bedroom to hurry and turn the lights on and run back. It is funny when I think about it now, but I never really understood the reason I was so afraid. Maybe it was just the unknown – but it would be a feeling I would never forget. In August of 2013, I lost my eyesight to diabetic retinopathy. At this time, I was 28 years old and I had just become a…

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  10. #MyBlind(Date)Story: Seeing the Museum from a Different Perspective – and Making a New Friend

    March 23, 2017 - By Melanie Shaw

    The first thing that hits me early in the morning on Saturday, March 11, is the temperature. Six degrees, despite the blue skies and bright sunlight. As I wait for signs of life from my stubbornly frozen car, the landscape around me comes into view: a world encased in ice from the snow and sleet that weekend. “How will my date navigate this hostile terrain?” a voice inside my head repeatedly asks. These thoughts are triggered by the fact that a stranger who is blind is scheduled to meet me…

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