It's all about perspective. Humans have been using tools for thousands of years to access more freedom. White canes, echolocation and Seeing Eye apps are all tools that are at your disposal to give you access to more freedom. If you want, you can try out echolocation and sonar vision ($1) where you do not need a cane. You have to practice but it is possible. That is the key, you have to take those first uncomfortable steps in order to better yourself.

I went through a lot of this as a young adult. I still kind of struggle with it now that I use a dog at the moment. I never wanted to use mine, because I thought that it made me look different. What I did not however think about where all of the situations where I ended up in trouble and I didn’t have it. Or people treating me like I can see when walking across campus not knowing about my visual and parent because I didn’t have it with me. It does help you a lot as I’m sure you know, but it will make you stand out more not having it then having it and being independent and being able to travel well. Hope this helps. Sorry dictation and I’m in a hurry

I was nervous using mine too but having others know that I cant see properly really helped me. I have ABIVI and need mine to actually navigate too. I got a pink one lately and I feel much more like me using it rather than the plain white ones

I’m vision impaired and began using my cane almost all the time recently. I was sick of always feeling anxious about running into things and having people walk into me (or me walking into them). Plus it tells people I may need help. You won’t come across as fake, from my experiehce people are more helpful than rude!

I relate with this a lot really. I was given a cane in high school and advised to use sunglasses to get to classes but I always refused to due so. I never really wanted my disability to call that much attention to me, you know? And I also have some sight, and was pretty good at getting around my high school and neighborhood because by the time I had lost a lot of my sight, I was 14, so my muscle memory was enough to get me by. But I really paid for it when I went to moved to university last year-- I felt really vulnerable and lost, because for the first time, I had to use the cane, both for ID and ensuring I made it from my dorm to my class without geting hit by Birds (those damn scooters) or people skating, etc. It was really tough to be guided by a cane, rather than being sighted guided by my sister, or another trusted loved one. But honestly? On a college campus, most people are too concerned with their life to be too concernced with ours. Sure, you'll probably get some stares, but who cares, really? And yeah, there is that fear that some people will think you're 'faking' it, but that's not a big deal either. Most able bodied people probably won't assume the worst when they notice you have a cane and also seem somewhat sighted, cause most able bodied people understand that they don't understand disability all that well-- most people think that all people that are blind are completely blind, rather than visually impaired, when that's not at all the case.

Sorry this is so long, I just related so much with this post, and hope it helps. Because I refused to use my cane, and mostly be sighted guided, I missed out on an opprtunity to practice walking independently in a comfortable environment, and insted had to learn in big, scary Los Angeles. Don't make my same mistakes, and good luck :)

Could you list 3 important reasons why you need to use a cane when you leave home?