A Different You
Introduction
Disability is a part of the lie and cannot be recognized as a deficiency in acting like a normal being. Every human being would have some disability, which could be temporary or permanent at any part of life. Those individuals who have no deficiencies at all and successfully survive to an older age would have difficulties in functioning in different functions. In the United States, it is estimated that the majority of families have a person with some disability, and non-disabled (normal) people use it to help the person with some disability. People are not able to recognize the problems which disabled people face in society, and they try to avoid getting in contact with them due to their disturbed or unequal behaviour. I am a normal person with no disability, and having an experience of a disability is a highly difficult task. A perception of being blind is developed here. The main aim of this paper is to define myself as a blind person with black glasses on my eyes and a white stick in my hand.
Discussion
Many people face some disabilities, which include being deaf, having malfunctioning limbs, being unable to talk, being blind or some similar disorders. Being blind is a very difficult task to live in a busy, scheduled world of people who are not able to wait for others at all. I am developing a discussion of how I would feel if I were blind. There are many people in the developed as well as underdeveloped world who have had disabilities since they were born, and many lost their abilities in some accidents or because of medical reasons. People who have had disabilities since they were born would not find difficulty in moving around or practising life with disabilities. On the other side, people like me who have already seen the world and suddenly they are not able to see anything would not be able to continue as quickly and accept the things as required.
Background
Manhattan is the busiest area of New York, United States. A disabled person would have a highly difficult time surviving in busy and highly difficult and tough routines. I am acting as blind in Manhattan, and from the background, I am from England, but my early childhood and all the previous time was spent in Manhattan. People from all over the world come to see this busy city, its hustle life and unpredictable busy schedules of the people living over there. Living with a family and having eyes is a highly energetic and beautiful life, but since my eyes were gone, everything turned into darkness. We frequently travel to different parts of the United States and England, but as now I am acting blind, it is highly tricky for my parents to keep me with them in unknown areas, so they prefer me to visit only closer areas, including the New York City, Manhattan park and some other connected regions and rural settings. My father explained that without eyes, it is difficult for anyone, and there are terrible difficulties and limitations that cause people from all over the world to quit their social and physical lives. Life initially was highly comfortable, but now I mostly have nothing but to attend my rehabilitation classes and understand the ways of getting back to normal life without having eyes. I had a neighbour who had recently lost his eyes, and I perceive his life as mine. If I didn’t have eyes, how would I be treated in society, and what would be my overall physical, social and mental status?
Physical Identity
Experience of having no eyes I am completely changed and the behavior of every one is also changed completely. My parents now keep their eyes on me while I am performing the daily routines, including going to the bathroom, eating and getting dressed. I could not find the blue cap and white socks as I could not see the colours. Everything is dull black.
My physical identity is a piece of meat everyone tries to decorate and to make me walk around. My mother observed my research and helped me a lot. While I was leaving home, she stopped me from checking on everything as if it seemed good to me, including my clothing and gadgets. Due to my father’s concern about my medical health of mine, the doctor advised me to bring the treadmill, which was placed in the middle of my room. I was supposed to run over it, and for the first time, I had to use its software without showing I had the eyes. My father and the fitness instructors were friends, and both of them helped me to recognize and become familiar with the device. After a couple of minutes, I was supposed to walk on the treadmill. On the first day, I was allowed to use the working machine, and then they let me try to adjust the speeds and other related things. This helped me to get my figure physically fit.
Mental Identity
The mental identity of an individual is highly considered when he has a disorder of a sense like blindness. I always feel broken and disheartened because of other’s behaviour. Nobody has time for me completely to understand me. My issues are resolved completely, but still, I miss the completeness and the social life which is absent from my life. The people who meet me are always curious to know how I am feeling and if I am not able to see anything at all. My father’s friends and my mom’s colleagues usually come to see me as well, but these things are very little appreciated and mostly affect me negatively. My self-esteem was also highly affected, which prevented me from reassessing my identity.
Dealing with things in life is completely changed. Now, I have wide mugs on my take rather than the glass, and I prepare food and dishes for myself rather than making my personally developed sandwiches with more cheese and less sauce.
Challenges
As discussed above, the challenges I faced when I pretended to be without sight sense. My complete identity was changed. I lost my balance. My feet didn’t recognize the floor properly, and every step was taken in an ambiguity. My home had a lot of glass ornaments and crystal vases, which I broke when I was in the wish to recognize the home completely. My parents gifted a lot of vases, glass ornaments and other decorations to their friends for my ease. These challenges were very initial, but afterwards, my ability to move around freely was taken from me. I am now not able to step out of the door alone unless everyone knows that I am leaving and a responsible person is with me. Our home is on the 17th story beside the third door of life in the first row. I can find it, but still, the consciousness of my parents disabled me to move around freely. One of the most terrible experiences and challenges is the inability to find things which are necessary for me in the middle of the night.
Limitations
The limitations are the only things that are disturbed highly because of the blindness. Whenever my father and mother take me to the part, they keep an eye on me and make me stop in many areas. I knew there would be any unrecognizable danger, but still, it limited me to a specific world of interest. The limitations include the lack of handling all of my activities and even minor help in need of my parent’s support.
Freedom
I have got freedom from the busy schedule of going to the college and then to the sports centre. Now I can sit for a long period and have plenty of time to listen to music and news about the world. I didn’t know how to explain things to others by writing. My father sent me to rehabilitation, where I was supposed to read the content in the form of depression and the doted content.
I am free from all the responsibilities except a few, including managing myself and my room, which was initially a difficult task, but now it’s quite hectic. Every day, my helper helps me dress up properly, pins my tie and knots and buttons the button of my shirt. Most of my tasks concerning the past are easy now. People have a hustle routine, and they are not able to wait for anyone while I am complete. My dad has managed my insurance, which pays my helper, and the rehabilitation school, which is freedom for me to feel independent of the financial problems.
Discoveries
There are some possible discoveries I have made yet. It is not possible to state them without interaction with a real blind person. When I became sightless, my way of pondering things was different and completely new. I did not recognize the situations, air, things, weather and sunlight as a person who does, but I used to feel things. For this purpose, I had to strengthen my listening and feeling abilities. My parents used to take me to the park where I felt the grass; it was green, but now, it was just a cold carpet with a muddy base beneath it.
There are many things that are not understandable, like the sense of fear and the sense of being lost. When I used to move around and not able to hear someone, I sometimes felt like I was dead and people were not able to listen to me. I can find the sunshine on the chicks and the about-to-rain conditions. Also, I can find the stranger in the room by his fragrance. Sometimes I have to ask If these would be no or limited voice signals. In many cases, my life was incomplete, and the most prominent was the inability to discover people in the initial period.
Perceptions
As per the English culture, I prefer not to feel about other’s perceptions, and my focus is privacy, and my concerns regard my issues only. After becoming blind, there were some issues which caused me to feel negative about myself and my routines. The people with whom I used to interact with were all belonged to me as my blood relations, but initially, my helper was rude and rigid in her job and didn’t focus on my words and perceptions about life. There are some ways through which she showed that her interest in my discussion is rare. As my father acknowledged these things, he quickly replaced her with a male helper who was helpful in discussing things and also managing all of my activities in life.
There is a perception that a blind person could be cut off from society, but it’s wrong. I worked as an RJ at the radio station, where I used to speak out about every possible and appropriate thing that was on my mind. I left that job because of the unavailability of transport as well as the distance issue.
Society’s Response
The social responsibility of the people towards me is different and caring. They keep me updated and take necessary updates about my requirements. A socially blind person finds it difficult to survive, and sometimes, I hear my parents telling me that it’s too hard for them to manage a blind person. They don’t have issues with the finances but the responsibility. Round the clock, when they are not around me, they frequently call my helper as well as me to check my condition as well as my health.
I am not able to work, but I have managed to produce some podcasts which are popular on social media. People don’t know that I am blind, but those who know always drop a kind gesture for me. People from all over the world have the disability issues. Everyone has difficulties in managing their daily routines. There are poor people as well who are dependent on others completely financially as well as physically. Usually, they are considered a burden, but eventually, society gets used to it.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, the life of an individual is not difficult for someone who is blind; it is completely different. The social circle is missing, and the people are unable to recognize themselves and their abilities. The paper is completed with the self-perception to elaborate on the problems and difficulties of a blind individual’s life as well as his mental conditions. There are many ways through which society can help an individual who has physical disabilities, and the easy ones are giving social support and a little time. It doesn’t cost as much but ends up in the happiness of a person who is blind, as well as a sense of belongingness and worthiness. Psychologically, it is imperative as it is not helpful and could be used for mental modelling and structural development of the gaps created in the mind.
Works Cited
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