Going blind is hard, but being blind isn't.

If you had told me that before I started losing my eyesight I would have thought you were nuts, but I promise it's been true for me.

Going blind is hard. There's a lot of grieving involved, and you'll discover you're not just grieving the loss of your eyesight, you're also grieving the loss of your potential, of your identity, and of what your life might have been. It's hard going from respected to pitied, it's hard when your doctor says you're no longer allowed to drive, it's hard when your boss says sorry, we love you but we just can't keep you on if you can't do what the job requires anymore.

But actually being blind? I've found it strangely fun. Weird, huh? My kids say I look like a badass in dark glasses, my white cane gives me right of way anywhere I go, and I get bonus points for doing the same things I've always done. "See that dude pedaling on the back of that bicycle built for two? He's blind! Can you believe it? What an inspiration!"

The grieving is hard, but it doesn't last forever. When you finish you'll find yourself in a new place where you can build a different life and be just about anything you want to be. In many ways going blind was a reset button for my life. I liked my old life and of course I can't go back, but that's okay because I like my new life, too. It's really pretty cool that I got to experience two.

If I could offer a bit of advice, start working on your blind bucket list. Do everything you want to do while you still can. Fly kites at the beach with your parents, go see the Statue of Liberty or the Grand Canyon or the state park you live next to but just never found the time to visit, ski with your kids, get into a Nerf Gun war with your grandkids, build a snowman with your friends, paint a picture, go on a roller coaster you've always been afraid to ride, shoot an arrow from a bow at a pyramid of empty soda cans, go miniature golfing with Grandpa, even put on some gloves and step into the ring and throw some punches. Make some awesome visual memories you can refer to once you can no longer see the faces of the people you love.

And if I could offer a second piece of advice, replace everything blindness takes from you with something else. If you can't snow ski anymore then water ski. If you can't jog down the street then jog on a treadmill. If you can't fill your home with beautiful art then fill it with beautiful music. If you can't do something then do something else. Don't let blindness leave you empty and hollow, bored and lonely. Keep living!

You asked what should you be learning. I decided not to learn Braille. I just don't see a need for it, not with the technology available today. I can have any book, news article, blog post, or text message read aloud to me just by a couple mouse clicks or a few swipes on my phone. Braille is cool and I wouldn't discourage anyone who wants to learn it, but let's be real: Braille is as yesterday as spinning your own thread and weaving your own cloth to sew your own clothes - cool but impractical.

Using a white cane is really, really easy. Even if you don't take a class you'll pick it up on your own in minutes. I know the O&M instructors reading this are already reaching for their keyboards to tell me how wrong I am but seriously, it feels natural after just a small bit of practice. For most people the hardest part of using a white cane seems to be the self conscious feeling of using it. TL;DR is don't worry about learning it, you already know how intuitively.

Get used to using the screen reader along with the devices built in magnification. Have a talk with your family because they become very important in ways you can't yet think of and are too numerous to list here. They're are also a lot of us out here who can answer most of your questions. If you don't have a Google nest already I highly recommend them because it can do things for you like make voice calls free of charge, it's also smarter than Siri or Alexa. I would also get in touch with the National Federation for three Blind. They also have a lot of great resources. I especially find their NFB Newsline service awesome as it offers access to most US newspapers, major magazines, and more.

Well, I lost my vision extremely quickly which was not easy to deal with. I'd echo what others have said and start preparing now to use assistive technology. Screen readers are going to be really important to learn, but it takes time to get used to the computer speaking to you.

I won't tell you that being blind is great. You don't have to learn to love it either. With that being said, it isn't as bad as you might think and over time you'll adapt and find new things to do and enjoy.

Not that bad. In my opinion.

I have RP ( retinitus pigmentosa ) which like yours is slow decline of vision. I'm 23 now and diagnosed at around 14 ish. My established time line is 30 ish. As it is now it's clear I'm not at 100%. It was scary at first but without anything to compare it to I just accepted it as " my shitty eyes ".

This realization comes after years of therapy so please. Talk to a professional. Its not a must but I recomend it especially for folks like us who had sight and are losing it. Emotions will churn and overflow if not properly released.

The brain really is weird, it tricks you. It will fill in gaps strangely enough or ignore things completely. For example, your nose. Without directly fixating on it your brain just doesn't register it in your eye sight. Eye lashes too. That's my experience with being legally blind. Its abnormal but not unpleasant. Just my shitty eyes.

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