To help bridge the gap between the sighted and visually impaired/blind Robin and I decided to start "Questions Friday". We believe awareness and education is key. On Questions Friday one can ask any question they may have about blindness by either sending us an email or direct messaging us on twitter. We will try to answer to the best of our ability. So to answer some of the questions...one question was why do I blog about makeup and fashion to the blind/visually impaired? Well I believe that just like sighted individuals, there are blind/visually impaired individuals who care about that sort of thing. Before Robin lost her eyesight she liked to dress in the most up to date styles and wear makeup. Once she lost her sight it didn't change who she was as a person, it only changed how she had to do some things. Robin relies on myself and our mother mostly to help her with what's going on in fashion and make up trends. Any tips that we find that works for her to help maintain her independence we like to share because it may help someone else. Another question is if Robin cannot see why does she care about what she has on. The answer to this is that Robin could see until she was 18, she knows what she likes and she knows what makes her feel confident, again, just because she's blind it doesn't change who she is as a person. Robin and I have always had different styles and even though she depends on me to help her when shopping, her style is still her style. I'll describe something to her and she will tell me whether she likes it or not. There's been times when our mother and I have told her something was cute and if it didn't sound like something she thought she would like she would say no. I'm a short girl;5'1" and I'm taller than Robin so I live in heels. I've been trying to get Robin to wear heels FOREVER and she refuses! Not even a little kitten heel! She likes her flats...so she likes what she likes. Another question is how does she get on the internet. Robin has a regular laptop, but she has a screen reader program called Window Eyes which turns text to speech. Every thing we see on the screen is spoken to her. She accesses twitter through Accessible Twitter which is designed for easier use and navigation with screen readers. Robin has a regular cell phone which she can access Facebook, Twitter, the web and text. She can do everything a sighted person can on her phone through a program called Mobile Speaks which she purchased through her service carrier AT&T. We thank everyone for their questions and hope that you continue to send them in. The only way to dismiss misconceptions is through education and awareness. The more we all can learn about one another the better this world will be. We all have a disability of some kind; all are lacking in one way or another. What matters most is having the faith and courage to know that all things are possible as long as you put your heart and mind to it.
Until next time...stay beautiful!!!
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