As I mentioned recently, we attended the NFB national convention a few weeks back. I had a really positive experience when a former participant in one of the summer programs I ran a few years ago came up to me and told me how much she loved reading my blog posts. She told me how she especially enjoyed and could relate to one of my last posts about shaving legs. She said her mom had never been comfortable with her doing this and hadn’t taught her. The girl now is in college and said she really learned a lot from reading my post. Her mom was with her at this time, and the young woman leaned over and whispered to me while her mom was talking to someone else how her mom still is a little over protective of some things that this young woman wants to do like her peers, but that she’s getting better at letting go. J . We also talked about other “girl related” things like putting on make-up non-visually (post to come) and other things that sometimes parents don’t know how to explain to their blind child. It was just a little heart-warming moment for me to see how she was able to feel more empowered as a blind young woman from something that simple which I wrote. That’s my whole goal in writing this blog—help empower parents of blind children and other blind individuals. Thanks to that special young woman for sharing this with me. And good luck to all the well-meaning parents out there who are trying to empower their children in the best way they know how.
