When discussing hearing loss with a friend today, I blurted out "I would rather be deaf then blind" and she said the same.
As a child, I had a hearing loss. Not a major one, but enough so that my speech was a little funny and I talked a little loud, and of course, I couldnt hear everything.
Luckily, the only part of this hearing loss I remember is from learning the memory after hearing stories and watching a few home videos. "Im tree es snow" was my version of "I am three years old" and I personally think its funny.
At four, I had surgery and now my hearing is fine. While I never really think about it, I am truly grateful that I am able to hear.
While I understand a tiny bit how difficult it is to not be able to hear all the time, I cannot fathom what it must be like to have no sight.
I cant imagine not knowing what a human looks like or what color the grass is. I cant imagine speaking to someone and not knowing their expressions, their eyes and their face. I cant imagine never seeing a car, a computer or anything.
It must be so incredibly difficult to live life not knowing what you are talking to or typing at. After thinking about it, I have so much respect and admiration for anyone that can live their life without seeing.
While I understood that being blind must be hard, I realized how many things a person with sight looks at every second their eyes are open. Every second theres something new.
Thinking about not being able to see got me thinking about dreams as well. Can blind people have dreams? I looked this question up and got a few different answers. Some people said that blind people can dream with what they imagine things to look like and others say they dream with more sounds. Whatever it is, I know I would be lost without dreams.
While I talk about hearing and seeing here, I realize how much I admire anyone that lives day to day with a disability. Whether it be legs that dont work right or even a more mental disability like mental retardation, people that are different live their lives differently because the rest of us--the ones with nothing wrong--make it that way. Life is hard if you cant do everything that others can and I think that many take normal ability for granted.
This is such a great post! So eye-opening, deep and real. I don't know where I would be without all of my senses. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI'm a new follower here. Found you at the Teen Scene blogfrog community. Hope you will stop by my place! www.brittany-ciara.blogspot.com
Good post. I too feel blessed to have all my senses, so I volunteer with the Guide Dog Foundation and raise puppies to become guide dogs.
ReplyDeletePeople tell me all the time that they don't see how I can get a dog, keep it for a year and then let it go...but I figure, you know its the least I can do to allow someone else the independence I enjoy so much. Its also taught me a lot about the blind community, and just how much they can do even with their blindness. Thanks to technology many use computers, hold down jobs, go to school, raise families just like the rest of us. They've given me a whole new outlook on life, and I'm just so thankful to be able to have come to know these other "normal" people.