|
I slowly make my way down a crowded busy street heading towards a nearby bus stop. My cane sweeps the sidewalk in front of me, warning me of any obstacles in my path. As I proceed, I sense that passersby are staring at me, the girl with the white stick.
I know from experience that questions are written across their faces. “How does she get around?” “How does she take care of herself?” The most common question is, “What will she ever achieve in life?” This is all part of my life as a visually impaired teenager. People look at me and pass judgement without even knowing me. They underestimate me. They think that I am dependent on the world around me, that I can’t do anything for myself.
All my life I have been taught by my parents to do everything within my potential to succeed in whatever I set my mind to. One goal that I hope to accomplish is to attend college and get a successful job. But, the path to reaching this goal is not an easy one. I have been completely blind since birth due to Retiniopathy of Prematurity. Throughout my life, I have been told time and time again that I must strive to do my best in school so that I can get into a good college.
This was something that greatly motivated me to sign up for classes that challenge me, classes such as AP Spanish and English, Advanced Biology, and Precalculus. I attend the same classes as sighted students and do the same assignments as my peers using assistive technology such as a Braille-Note (a computerlike device with a refreshable Braille display) and computers with screen-reading technology.
Recently, I learned that the national percentage of unemployment of visually impaired citizens is 75 percent versus 25 percent of unemployed sighted citizens. I don’t want to be part of that 75 percentile. I would like to be one of the people to enter college and follow those individuals with little or no sight who have gone through the process and now hold successful jobs as lawyers, judges, and other professionals. This is the main reason why I decided to enter this and other scholarship opportunities that will help me reach my goal of getting into college.
Sincerely,
Bianca |
= Grand Prize winner for this category