Never believed it’s real till I experienced nightfall and daybreak without seeing any object.
Before I joined the visually impaired world in 2020,I always wanted to make difference irrespective of the challenges. When I hear stories of great achievers, my motivation capacity increases to its brim.
As a child, I have always wanted to be great, I never relent, always working hard to be a pace setter, achieve greatness and make my family proud, to be known and to change life positively, all these dreams of achieving success and impacting positively to the society vanished at a blink of an eye.
I thought my world has ended, I was depressed, my parents did all they could but to me they were not doing enough, I never imagined myself staying blind, quitting life was the only option for me, so many people tried talking to me but I saw it as waste of time. I was filled with hatred and the only thing that rings bell in my mind is to quit life and have a cold rest.
Most of my friends left me, while some stayed back. To those that motivate me, I always appreciate them, and to those that make me feel less of myself, I drop them; for in this journey of life, not everybody that started with you will end with you.
I started attending physically challenged seminars and I went closer to God, I can’t achieve it alone and I needed his grace to push forward because it’s not easy losing one’s sight and since I wasn’t born blind, I found it difficult to believe and to cope, I started motivating myself that my sight will not be a barrier to me achieving greatness.
Yes when I lost my sight, I had thoughts of quitting from education, social life even life in general, I saw myself as a failure and I don’t want to live my life depending on anybody to carry me around but at a second thought, I prayed for the grace of God to help me on this journey, I started again from the scratch, learning how to eat, how to walk, how to sit, how to communicate and every aspect of life.
Most of my friends already gone far but I always remind myself that it’s not how far but how well.
If Rejections hurt a lot as a human being, then imagine when you are visually impaired and people rejects you; don’t want to associate with you because they think you are a failure and liability to them.
Yet, at that point in my life, I have already created my happiness because I know that my disabilities has nothing to do with my abilities, I motivated myself to strive hard to prove that am not a failure and the Almighty has been faithful to me, it’s not easy trying to be on the same pace with your friends, trying to meet up in every aspect of your life and be able to do things when others are doing it.
I encountered so many challenges in life and as a student, yes I am a graduate of mass communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria Nsukka, I faced so many challenges, ranging from getting someone to walk me down to my department, someone to do voice over for me to be able to read and prepare for test and exams.
Finance and mobility are not left behind, being visually impaired deprived me a lot especially entering normal shuttle with other students, no shuttle driver will give you all the time and attention needed especially when you are paying normal fifty Naira (₦50).
I don’t get upset because it’s not easy for them driving to and fro just to earn a living, I was left with no option than to be taking drop, pay higher and get the attention needed, most times, if am lucky, I will meet someone heading to same destination with me, we will enter shuttle together and ease transport fare.
Buying of necessary gadget to aid reading and other relevant materials and also giving out tips to people that help you in one way or the other: in our world, it’s a form of appreciation and motivation because it’s not easy leading a visually impaired fellow. Most times, I miss my appointment for lack of human resource,there are places I will want to go and due to accessible road and nobody to take me there at that point.
This popular saying that a beggar has a choice but cannot be a chooser, left me with no option than to think that it was coined for us. It’s hard to find a lover, someone who loves you and truly care about your feelings, someone who is up to the standard you desired in a woman, someone who will love and cherish you for who you are, someone that will understand the pain and stress you are currently undergoing in other not to add to it, it’s rare finding a lover as a physically challenged fellow, that’s why most visually impaired end up marrying themselves for they have been there and they understand what it takes to be physically challenged unlike the normal foes.
Visually impaired world is very lonely, it’s not easy to live in an imaginary world, feeling amazing things that exists in the reality but never get to visualize them, amazing people that stood by your side, you never get to see them let alone know how they look. We only feel things, touch them, taste them, perceive them and never gaze at them, indeed there is a lacuna between the world of the visually impaired and normal being.
