Today I want to share an inspiring comment submitted by Rachel in response to my post of 7/16/08 titled “Are You Challenged or Disabled?”.
Rachel has been legally blind all of her life and yet she can clearly see the difference between challenged and disabled. Those of us who are sighted really can’t fully appreciate or imagine how difficult life would be without our eyesight. How well do you think you would deal with the loss of your vision?
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Here’s what Rachel had to say: “I was born with a visual impairment. My sight issues have rarely limited me, any limitations I have had were mostly self-imposed.
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I have a Masters degree in Fine Arts from the University of Michigan. I was the first legally blind, visual artist to graduate with a master’s from that university.
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At times I have used my “disability” as an excuse for not living up to my fullest potential. At other times I have over compensated for my sight issues and not allowed myself to receive the appropriate help when I needed it.
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What I find most interesting is I AM NOT ALONE. You don’t have to have a obvious disability to be disabled in certain areas of your life. We have all resorted to using “coping skills” because we didn’t have other more appropriate tools at our disposal.”
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Her Conclusion: “A disability is not something that happens TO YOU, it’s something that you do to yourself. There’s really only disabled thinking.”
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Thank’s Rachel for sharing your story with us.
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PS. If you would like to check out Rachel’s blog it’s called Why Not Rachel
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PPS. Do you have a personal story you are willing to share? Please take a moment to leave a comment. If you found Rachel’s story inspiring you can use the Share This button below to share it with others.
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