So far, I've gotten that:

* Walking to class
* Walking out of Tim Horton's with a coffee
* Getting on the bus, after verifying with the driver it was the one I wanted
* Getting off the bus
* Finishing a school assignment due at 8:00 AM the next morning (for the record, I do not feel very inspirational when I'm stressed)
* Nipping next door to grab a couple slices of pizza (the store staff don't care, but some of the customers...)

How I don't instinctively snark back by now is one of life's mysteries.

If someone is pushy with it I go on a rant about inspiration porn and how I'm not here for it. If it's online I send them links about why it's shitty. I also enjoy telling people who insist on praying for me that I'm a Satanist.

I say thank you and change the subject. Most of the time it's just a platitude, but then again maybe it's genuine and I'm not in the habit of being a dick to someone who tried to say something nice to me.

I've actually never gotten this from anyone. At least not that I remember.

However, IF someone said that to me, I'd say "thank you" and be happy about it. Cuz especially the "brave" part isn't actually that wrong in my opinion. Maybe if you're blind since birth you feel differently about it but having gone blind during the past few years, I struggle with all kinds of negative feelings. I've become quite the hermit, which makes me said and my wife even more so. I want to change this but going out of the house is difficult emotionally. I've done all that O&M stuff and I'm also in therapy but I still get anxiety (something I had never experienced before in my life). It's stressful to constantly ask strnagers for help, search things etc. Also, the worse my cornea becomes the more I'm dealing with the sunlight being unbearably blinding. I'm wearing dark sunglasses but it's still a big problem (I also don't have an iris, which makes the whole thing much worse). I like going out on rainy or cloudy days but on sunny days I really need to give myself that "kick in the butt" to go outside. It's not a very pleasant experience. So, when I end up doing it, if I just walk to the supermarket, I feel great about myself. According to this sub, most blind people don't want to be called "brave". I differ from that. I'd love to get that compliment granted that it's meant genuinely. I really do think of myself as brave. Yes, going to the supermarket may not be a big deal and when I had better vision it really wasn't. But now it is. And so I like when people acknowledge that.

Maybe one difference to other blind people is that I'm not getting too much acknowledgement for my achievements in general. Both my siblings treat my going blind as a mildly interesting blip on the radar. They don't ask me any questions, they don't make comments. All I get is a sarcastic joke from my older brother every now and then like "sorry about spilling your drink... oh wait, you can't see it anyway hahaha." My parents care and I know they feel for me but they also want me to deal with my negative feelings on my own. So, in the end, I only have one person who truly acknowledges my struggle and that's my wife. Everyone else (family, friends etc) cares about it on an extremely superficial level. Sometimes they ask me how I am but whenever I try to tell them about my daily struggles related to my eyes, they seem to get very impatient and want to move on to a different topic.

Maybe other blind people have a ton of friends and family members who make them compliments and so they don't really need to hear it from strangers. I don't get many compliments related to my eyes and so I appreciate every genuine compliment I get, even if it's the bus driver who says it.

As a sighted person, I can understand why they do it. The idea of losing your eyesight is one of people's greatest fears. Losing my eyesight is a big possibility and is a really scary thought, i know there is technology and O&M training but i still don't know how I'm going to mentally prepare for it.

I just go with it and reply back with “Thank you!”

Just move on don't make a big deal about it.

It really depends on how they mean it. For example, if you know them fairly well, chances are good they’re being genuine. If they don’t, it’s another story. Try to remember most sighted people are terrified to lose their sight, so they have no concept of blindness. You could be the first person with a vision impairment they’ve gotten to talk to in length.

I’ve only had this said to me a few times and in those instances I knew the person didn’t mean it in a pitying or negative way. It was at the start of my sight loss and during a very rough patch in my life. So I felt good hearing it and it gave me strength. Now if I hear it I’d probably just say Thanks and keep it moving or change the topic.

I have had this happen frequently, often it makes me feel great, though I am sure I blush and feel embarrassed at the same time.

This one time recently I went to a celebration with plenty of concerts and I was looking for where the event was taking place, it turned out that the bus had dropped me off only a block away luckily. Anyways as I was looking for help I found a volunteer who had helped to set up the event, and once I had explained why I was there she said "If I was blind I honestly would never leave my house" I ended up enjoying the evening, and will certainly always be on the look out for local concerts.

I just say, “I’m alright and I continue doing what I’m doing.” In most cases it does not really matter what those people think. I’ve met blind people that get outraged and make it a big negative deal.

Just smile and nod. I just do that, or say thanks and move on, as there's really nothing you can do. Its kind of annoying to literally be doing nothing and get that but hey, on the bright side its a compliment at least.

I just tell them nicely that I’m not and they could do this too if they had to. Something about not selling humanity or themselves so short so it doesn’t sound too rude, heh. You’ll probably find yourself coming up with a few rote replies to things people say a lot.

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