Did any of these *life hacks* surprise you? Let me know! 😲 Don't forget to like and subscribe if you want to join me on my journey to teach the world about what it's like to live with blindness. Thank you all for watching! 😄
Ah, sunglasses. When I was a preteen, then a teen and still living with my family, I was made to wear sunglasses. Granted they were not those clunky huge glasses, but they were sunglasses nevertheless. I came to loathe wearing them because I was never given a choice, because my mother was ashamed of my blindness and wanted me to hide my eyes. Now, I know that this is very prevalent in many cultures wherein disabilities such as blindness are thought of as tragic. But that doesn't make the attitude acceptable or okay. For me, not being asked my input and simply being told to wear something so others could be more comfortable didn't sit well. I wore those glasses because I wasn't old enough to move out on my own and because I didn't have the confidence to stand up for myself, but it did a number to my self-confidence and self-esteme. Had I chosen to wear sunglasses, that would have been different. ISince moving out on my own, 've avoided wearing them for years because of the past association. I can't make eye contact, but I don't care about that. I know plenty of sighted people who struggle to make and maintain eye contact, and while I do understand its importance, it isn't something everyone can do. In the big scheme of things, that's okay; it doesn't have to be a deal breaker. I do see the benefits of wearing sunglasses to protect my eyes from the sun. Sometime this year, I'll go to a store and pick out something that I actually like and will only wear when I'm in the sun for extended periods of time. We have those audible poles here, but they are not yet everywhere. I think they are grat, but they also need to vibrate too for those who are deafblind and/or hard of hearing. The world is still a long way from being fully accessible for everyone. The Lenovo laptops are nice. That's what I would get if I were a Windows user. I'm an Apple person, so I have a Mac. But yes, having a good keyboard is critical when you're doing so much typing. I've yet to buy my first pair of really expensive headphones. I can't decide which ones they will be. But considering that my work centers around Apple, they probably will be the Apple Air Pods Max. For daily use, my go to are either the Apple ear pods or the Air Pods. When I'm traveling and need to use a GPS app, I like the Aftershokz bluetooth headphones because they don't cover my ears.
Wow I never considered that wearing sunglasses could have such a negative emotional meaning for some people. But that makes so much sense and I'm sorry you experienced that. Yes I agree that we can understand culturally why people might do things like trying to hide your disability but it really doesn't make it ok. I had a pretty similar experience when my vision was starting to get really bad. At one point in time, my family (and even I myself) felt ashamed about my condition, and it was something that was very difficult to accept. Many years later, we've all come to accept it and even joke about it, and I'm much more comfortable in my own skin. The accessibility of traffic lights is something that I'm going to be talking to some people here about more too, so I can get a better understanding of why certain things are done a specific way. For example, not all traffic lights don't have the buzzer at all, some are completely busted and not fixed, and sometimes it's difficult to differentiate between the beeping sound of two traffic light crossings which are down the street from one another. There may or may not be good solutions for every problem, but we could probably try. And absolutely, placing a buzzer on the audio traffic lights would also help deaf-blind people in a huge way. Finally about the use of headphones, the Apple AirPods Max are really expensive, but if you like the Apple products and ecosystem, they're pretty nice. I found them comfortable when I tried them at the store, especially in hot weather. Bone conduction earphones are amazing too for outdoor use, especially with the GPS.
@@JoshTseng Oh man, we could get into a whole long conversation about cultures and disability. Maybe someday if you're interested. I have lots to say, though I don't think I'll put all of it here in this public space. I'm glad your family are comfortable now with your blindness. I didn't get there with most of my family, and for my own mental well-being, I don't interact with most of them much. I don't harbor any bad feelings toward them, but I really don't want to be around people who repeatedly disrespect my wishes and insist on treating me like a helpless kid instead of a woman. Yeah, I'm an Apple person. My work centers around Apple, and so I want everything that Apple has. Admittedly some things--like the Max Air Pods--are super overpriced. It's really interesting to learn about how things are done in your culture and to know your journey with blindness. I try and keep an open mind because I don't think there's a right or wrong perspective. Every person is different and comes with his/her unique life experiences and thought processes.
Did any of these *life hacks* surprise you? Let me know! 😲
Don't forget to like and subscribe if you want to join me on my journey to teach the world about what it's like to live with blindness. Thank you all for watching! 😄
Ah, sunglasses. When I was a preteen, then a teen and still living with my family, I was made to wear sunglasses. Granted they were not those clunky huge glasses, but they were sunglasses nevertheless. I came to loathe wearing them because I was never given a choice, because my mother was ashamed of my blindness and wanted me to hide my eyes. Now, I know that this is very prevalent in many cultures wherein disabilities such as blindness are thought of as tragic. But that doesn't make the attitude acceptable or okay.
For me, not being asked my input and simply being told to wear something so others could be more comfortable didn't sit well. I wore those glasses because I wasn't old enough to move out on my own and because I didn't have the confidence to stand up for myself, but it did a number to my self-confidence and self-esteme. Had I chosen to wear sunglasses, that would have been different.
ISince moving out on my own, 've avoided wearing them for years because of the past association. I can't make eye contact, but I don't care about that. I know plenty of sighted people who struggle to make and maintain eye contact, and while I do understand its importance, it isn't something everyone can do. In the big scheme of things, that's okay; it doesn't have to be a deal breaker.
I do see the benefits of wearing sunglasses to protect my eyes from the sun. Sometime this year, I'll go to a store and pick out something that I actually like and will only wear when I'm in the sun for extended periods of time.
We have those audible poles here, but they are not yet everywhere. I think they are grat, but they also need to vibrate too for those who are deafblind and/or hard of hearing. The world is still a long way from being fully accessible for everyone.
The Lenovo laptops are nice. That's what I would get if I were a Windows user. I'm an Apple person, so I have a Mac. But yes, having a good keyboard is critical when you're doing so much typing.
I've yet to buy my first pair of really expensive headphones. I can't decide which ones they will be. But considering that my work centers around Apple, they probably will be the Apple Air Pods Max. For daily use, my go to are either the Apple ear pods or the Air Pods. When I'm traveling and need to use a GPS app, I like the Aftershokz bluetooth headphones because they don't cover my ears.
Wow I never considered that wearing sunglasses could have such a negative emotional meaning for some people. But that makes so much sense and I'm sorry you experienced that.
Yes I agree that we can understand culturally why people might do things like trying to hide your disability but it really doesn't make it ok.
I had a pretty similar experience when my vision was starting to get really bad. At one point in time, my family (and even I myself) felt ashamed about my condition, and it was something that was very difficult to accept. Many years later, we've all come to accept it and even joke about it, and I'm much more comfortable in my own skin.
The accessibility of traffic lights is something that I'm going to be talking to some people here about more too, so I can get a better understanding of why certain things are done a specific way. For example, not all traffic lights don't have the buzzer at all, some are completely busted and not fixed, and sometimes it's difficult to differentiate between the beeping sound of two traffic light crossings which are down the street from one another.
There may or may not be good solutions for every problem, but we could probably try. And absolutely, placing a buzzer on the audio traffic lights would also help deaf-blind people in a huge way.
Finally about the use of headphones, the Apple AirPods Max are really expensive, but if you like the Apple products and ecosystem, they're pretty nice. I found them comfortable when I tried them at the store, especially in hot weather. Bone conduction earphones are amazing too for outdoor use, especially with the GPS.
@@JoshTseng Oh man, we could get into a whole long conversation about cultures and disability. Maybe someday if you're interested. I have lots to say, though I don't think I'll put all of it here in this public space.
I'm glad your family are comfortable now with your blindness. I didn't get there with most of my family, and for my own mental well-being, I don't interact with most of them much. I don't harbor any bad feelings toward them, but I really don't want to be around people who repeatedly disrespect my wishes and insist on treating me like a helpless kid instead of a woman.
Yeah, I'm an Apple person. My work centers around Apple, and so I want everything that Apple has. Admittedly some things--like the Max Air Pods--are super overpriced.
It's really interesting to learn about how things are done in your culture and to know your journey with blindness. I try and keep an open mind because I don't think there's a right or wrong perspective. Every person is different and comes with his/her unique life experiences and thought processes.
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