Hi Hailee! Thanks for sharing a bit about yourself. I've found the community here at r/blind really supportive and insightful and I hope you will too.

I think a lot of us can relate to the feelings you're expressing here. We fight so hard just to do half as well as any sighted person and no one else really knows how much of a toll that takes on us. It can be frustrating to see others execute something with perfect ease while we struggle.

But I think that's sort of the point, really. Life is all about struggle, and everyone struggles with something whether we see it or not. Comparing yourself to others by any metric is an exercise in futility; either you come off better and have an undeserved sense of ego, or you come off worse and feel shitty about yourself.

The trick is to compare yourself to yourself, and not others. What have you done that you're proud of? What can you do now that you couldn't before? How have you improved?

And I'm not just talking about O&M and life skills, how have you become a better person? What valuable life lessons have you learned and applied to yourself?

These are the metrics by which you can judge yourself.

Also, what resources are there for you in your area? Do you have a disability service provider that you could do some O&M training with? It sounds like maybe you could use a bit of a confidence boost, and they're pretty good at giving you the skills to feel safe and secure getting out and about.

They might also be able to help you with employment, or studying for a career path. Blind/VI people are having more and more success finding work, especially in tech-based industries where the playing field evens up a little. Larger companies are generally more willing to hire, and might even have diversity policies.

I know how rough it can get sometimes. But you can either be a victim of circumstance, or you can become an agent of positive change in your own life. You can take back control, explore, expand, and overcome. It's scary, but it's worth it.

Good luck!

Hi Hailee. This is a part of my story :)

I am a blind teen. I started losing vision when I was 9. My school at the time basically kicked me out. Then I home schooled for a few years. Went to an awful primary school. And found an amazing high school.

But still I feel like I am always depending on other people to drive me around. I am worried about finding work.

And I feel like to other people all I talk about is being blind. But it’s such a fundamental part of who I am, that I can’t not talk about it. Like when everyone talks about moving out of home and finding apartments while they study. I talk about finding a university near home so that my mom can help take me around.

And I know the feeling of hiding how sad you are from others. I always felt that even though people try to understand, they just can’t. I needed to talk to other blind people. My people. Because it is a great thing to have someone to talk to that has gone through or is going through what you are. That’s why I love using Readit.

As for wanting to see. I kinda don’t want to anymore. I know I would be a totally different person without being blind. And I think I have grown so much. I have learnt to always ask why someone does something, not just to judge them. And to think of others, because it is so rare that someone out of no where will think of helping me, or how something will affect me. With small things like going to the movies with friends, they don’t think that I need to sit in front and they will book seats right at the back.

I too have wanted to write a book about being blind. And if you don’t feel like your life is worth anything, maybe you should start writing and maybe that’s where you are meant to be. And you can feel like you have a purpose

I feel this. But trust me when I say resources are out here that can help you. Try maybe looking into some independent living training. I went to a training center for 9 months and it really helped. I had the chance to work with some amazing instructors and it helped to be able to talk to and socialize with other blind people who were going through the same. We all went in with different levels of confidence and independence and as all of our backgrounds were also different a lot was learned. Not only did they help me with my traveling skills, cooking, Braille, cleaning and computer usage, they put me in a lot of situations that really helped build my confidence. That being said I can totally relate on a lot of what you’ve said here. I even though I’ve learned how to use screen readers I still find myself making out with my phone to see something or blocking part of the tv from my friends by mistake when playing video games because I’m just trying to see what’s going on. Hope this helps and let me know if you have questions

Hi welcome to premature club lol
I am almost same as you
If u want more people like u to talk to or even talk to me I'll message u link to our discord channel where there are many like us it's great fun trust me

Push yourself to make it on TED Talk. You can inspire others alike in your shoes.

I just want to say, you deserve to be treated with the same respect, treated like everyone else. Having to live on disability pay is not a reflection of you, it's a reflection of society. We need to evolve to better understand and create opportunities for people who are visually impaired too. I am not a blind person but I do have what others see as "disabilities" in this society game we play. You sound like a very intelligent person. I would love to chat with you too in case you are interested. Peace.

Ah. I see.

Stay strong, friend. You have an entire community of support here.

I'm fully blind. If you need someone to talk to, my PM's/chats are open.

Most importantly, understand that you're NOT ALONE. Don't give up, and please stay strong and do not give up fighting through this. You honestly owe it to yourself. <3

Hey girl, I totally get it. I was also born premature, blind in my left eye and my vision is 6/35 (distance) and at a minimum I can read 18 point font. I struggle with contrast . I have retinopathy and glaucoma. And it’s a struggle but I try not to give up. Technology is wonderful. I can read menus using my phones camera, I can navigate around uni by using the maps app on my phone. I’m confident I can work with the help of magnifiers. I use a cane and people are more nice than they are mean.

But I totally get the anxiety. I can’t see at night so socialising is hard. I joined an anime club but stopped going because I couldn’t read the subtitles. As confident as I am, I’m scared I won’t be able to work. Or be able to raise my future kids properly because I won’t be able to drive them to school, or read to them. I get it. But I think we need to find solutions. Are there any pre-employment programs for people who are blind, visually impaired, or disabled near you? Is there orientation and mobility to help you get around?

And you should totally begin blogging or writing a book! It would be awesome :)

Best of luck to you, Hailee! And if you need a friend, I’m always here :)

hi! thanks for sharing. i relate with a lot of what ya said, actually— visually impaired myself, need huge font and need to be two feet away from something indoors to read, and need a cane for outdoors. i also feel more on the lucky side, but when it’s something you live on the day to day, it’s still overwhelming.

i can certainly relate to the whole independence issue— i was so accustomed to living with my family that when i moved to a huge city like LA for uni, it was terrifying, and i won’t lie, really depressing for a while. i didn’t know how to handle public transport on my own (i wasn’t born with my disability, happened when i was 14 or so), had to use my cane seriously rather than be sighted guided by a loved one— it was tough. it was also tough to find clubs, organizations, etc on campus becuase no one really knew the protocol for providing info to a blind student with a cane, even though handing the flyer to me is just fine. i was in LA, surrounded by things to do and people bustling in the city, but you also just feel so isolated. It wasn’t easy, and i’m still trying to fully establish my routine, but i have some close friends and activities that i ended up finding and really being passionate about. just takes time, you know.

as for ssi, i do get it, but most of the checks go into saving for my housing payments, as i stay at the dorms if my uni. i don’t work, as i’m mainly focusing on studies, so the checks are all i got. thankfully fafsa covers everything else besides housing. personally, i do plan to work— not to evoke any overdone ref’s, but i have always wanted to be a lawyer and that ambition didn’t go with my vision. but for now i’m still in the ‘humble beginnings’ portion of my eventual wikipedia page, lmao.

i’m a writer too, actually— not professionally, but if it’s something you’re passionate about, go for it! i’d love to be a beta for an eventual manuscripts 👍

Hi Haley

My partner and I have eye conditions. I was born 3 months early and have retinopathy of prematurity. I have light perception but apart from that I am totally blind. My partner has 20/80 vision and is completely blind at night. I can completely understand how you are feeling. I have anxiety and depression Andy lack of vision does not help me in my every day life. My dream job has always been to work with animals but because of my vision nobody will consider me probably for insurance reasons. People overlooked me when I did voluntary work for a cat shelter even though I worked hard and had been there a lot longer. My partner also has the same troubles with reading signs and her phone as you do and I can understand it must be very frustrating. Apart from my partner, nobody else truly knows what it’s really like to be visually impaired. They don’t even try. At school I was badly bullied by other students and a teacher’s aid because of my vision and the affects of it are still with me to this day. I find it very hard to deal with. I also find it frustrating typing on my phone but a couple of weeks ago my partner got me a bluetooth keyboard and now I can type heaps faster and keep up in these groups. I also find it hard going out on my own and getting around places. I think it’s good you do modelling. I have done reception work before and did voluntary work at a cat shelter and worked in a vet for a short time. My vision does make it hard to get a job, especially one I really want to do. We both love apple devices as they are great for accessibility. I use voiceover and my partner uses the magnifier and zoom. She has to use a cane at night and this is very challenging for her as she is in an electric wheelchair. We would really like to chat to you more. We both have no one except each other and are looking for other blind and visually impaired to chat to that understand what it’s like. Take care and hope to talk soon.

Hi there :)

This is my first post but I wanted to reply to you because what you wrote really strikes a chord with me. My partner posts here and told me about your post. Her name on here is Sadie Ragbaby. I have 20/80 vision in both eyes and am completely blind in dim light (nyctalopia). I was also born 3 months early, as was my partner. It's one of many weird coincidences we share. I totally know what you mean about not being able to read signs and find your way places on your own. Between my vision and agnosia (lack of ability to recognise things due to brain injury) I find getting around and doing simple things like grocery shopping or even getting to the shop in the first place gives me really bad anxiety. I also suffer from major depression. I try to keep a brave face and not complain because Sadie's vision is a lot worse than mine and I should be more grateful for what I have. She only has light perception and life is very difficult for her. It's not easy always being brave though.

I use the magnifier and zoom on my phone and computer too. What phone do you have and are you a Mac or PC person? Apple have really great accessibility features in my opinion. I used to jokingly laugh at Sadie for using an iphone but now she laughs at me because I have more Apple devices than her :P

Last Tuesday I had an appointment with a mobility instructor from Vision Australia and we went to the supermarket to try a monocular for reading the signs in the shop. I could read them if I found them in the first place but trying to find the signs with it made me feel seasick. Usually I use apps on my phone like Seeing AI for signs and text and Blindsquare for getting around outside. Blindsquare speaks what intersections I'm approaching and what businesses are around how far away my destination is in what direction etc.

It's amazing how many things people just don't even think about in daily life that are very hard for those of us with disabilities. Even movies suck for me because with vision impairment and agnosia I don't recognise the characters unless they have very distinctive features like a hair colour that stands out and have to keep asking whoever I'm with who's this who's that. It gets annoying for people so nobody wants to do things with me other than Sadie who understands.

It gets embarrassing too. On Monday I walked from the kitchen to the lounge with a bowl of porridge (oatmeal) and cherries. I didn't gage where the table was correctly and ended up dropping it upside down all over the carpet in front of my home care worker. I do stuff like that all the time and I hate it.

I don't work. I'm in a wheelchair most of the time because of a car accident and I have to wear a machine to breathe because of severe respiratory issues. Being in a wheelchair with a cane is challenging.

I'm on social security for disability too. I don't have any great suggestions for you to make life meaningful as most of the time I wonder the same thing. I have hobbies like playing and composing music and I am trying to learn to draw but depression and anxiety make it hard to get into anything. I have a magnifying lamp which is great for stuff like craft and drawing but it's not portable so I can't use it in the lounge where I spend most of my time. Sadie and I are going to look at the Vision Australia store to see if there are any decent portable ones.

Anyway sorry for the essay. I just wanted to write to you because all of what you said is so familiar to me. If you ever want to chat you are welcome to message me. Same goes for my partner. We both don't have anyone other than each other who gets what it's like.

It can be tough. I have similar VI. I think reaching out for help and guidance is a great step on your part.


Most people want to help.

Not sure how often you exercise but I find it really helps me control my own anxiety.

I always wondered how blind people get into relationships (the dating is what puzzles me), do you fall in love with their voice or their words?

Being five feet and an inch if I am wearing platform sneakers, I was never going to be a model with or without sight!

Nobody can tell you or I that having sight problems is not a pain in the ass. I get irritated when people claim that they wouldn't take a miracle cure. Of course anyone would just for the convenience. Someone once said that being blind is incredibly inconvenient and that's so true. I agree. It's not great. People sometimes ignore that in an attempt to try and sound positive but sometimes you just want someone to go yes, it is bad. Modern medicine, I am ready for your cure.

The problem now is that I am sort of tempted to try to turn this around and pep talk you which is probably not that helpful. So here's stuff I would say to anyone with or without sight problems who was looking to get into a tricky career like modelling.

If you make money out of modeling you're a model, and that's what you tell them. Don't mention the disability, I never do. Never make excuses for yourself. Never give them a reason to think less of you. I'm a musician and I guess it's similar to modeling in that it's a fake it till you make it career. If this feels like building yourself up too much, bear in mind it is what everyone else is doing. Get yourself set up with some sort of online presence that calls you what you want to be. Have business cards made. Put a logo at the end of your emails. People will believe it.

As to the practicalities sure, I find that being blind makes life very very expensive. I spend a stupid amount of money on cabs and ubers and stuff. In the last week I have done five jobs all over London and earlier this year I was in Tokyo and Los Angeles, and I went to Tokyo solo. It can be done. You just end up spending a huge amount of time making phone calls and if things go wrong you have to problem solve. You also have to have planned for things to go wrong. The number of times I have called a building, while I was standing in the building, for someone to come find me is huge. If that's price of doing business so be it.

You will fall into bed exhausted at the end of every day because you will be working twice as hard as everyone else and I have no idea what my old age is going to be like when I just can't do it anymore, but I'm going to do it while I can.

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Visual impairment at any level is definitely difficult. I'd love to have vision at your level (mine was 20/700 a few years ago, can't see fingers in front of face) and I can't say it's always easy, but I do live completely independently, have a full time job and a partner, and travel on my own to new places including to other cities. When it comes to being independent VI can be a reason abut it's not really an excuse. Build more skills and try asking for less help, as it will impede your development in the long term. You'll get into embarrassing situations but that's OK. Stop dwelling on the fact that you don't have one thing that others have, other people have their own problems and many of them are worse than being VI. In the medium to long term you might also consider moving someplace that has better public transportation, at least in the US that seems to hold a lot of VI people back.