Perspective
On styling myself for a whole new life and the hope that came with it
Whenl was around 11, I started to notice what felt like clouds blocking my vision. Even though I’d been diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis* as a baby – and I knew the condition could affect my eyes as well as my joints – Istill struggled to understand what was happening. Especially as the clouds got thicker and thicker.
The years went on, and my vision had ups and downs. I’d get a corrective surgery and my sight would return, only to start disappearing again soon after. It was exhausting. Then, when I was 17, my doctors put me on an intravenous drug that was supposed to help but ended up making me really sick – dizzy, nauseated, fatigued.
By the time I turned 18, l’d decided to stop trying to ‘fix’ my eyes. I knew l would get so much more out of life if I began my journey as a registered blind woman. The decision made me feel both relieved and anxious. I desperately needed a break from being in the hospital, but I was also overwhelmed by the prospect of learning to live without much sight.
Let me pause here to say that it’s important to know that blindness exists on a spectrum. People hear the word ‘blind’ and think about white canes and dark glasses and a total loss of vision – stereotypical images of the helpless and hopeless – but that’s just not the case. There’s a small percentage of blind folks who can’t see anything but otherwise there’s no one type. Personally, I have light reception, which means I can see bright colours and l can just barely make out the shapes of objects.
Another misconception is that blind people only want to wear black or that they don’t care about what they put on. Before my blindness, I was a jeans and T-shirt kind of girl. My mum used to get so mad when we’d go shopping – I’d never choose a dress. After l started college, though, I felt l needed to care more about my style. I didn’t want to be ‘the weird blind girl’, so I tried my best to fit in. l started exploring clothing and piecing looks together, and my outfits became icebreakers. My classmates often wanted to know where I got my clothes and accessories from, and I’d use these conversations to educate non-disabled individuals on what blind people can be interested in and capable of doing.
Of course, the way l shop now is different from when I was a kid. When I go to a shop, I use my cane and I walk around and feel
