About Us

This blog is about how the world is viewed by the visual and the visually impaired. The intent of this blog is to bring the two worlds together. It is administered by two fabulous sisters, Toni, who is sighted and Robin, who became visually impaired in 2002 at the age of 18 due to misdiagnosis.



Saturday, July 24, 2010

Access Equals Opportunity...

As the 20th anniversary of The Americans with Disability Act approaches, today many bloggers are setting aside time to write about an important matter; empowering those with disabilities. You might be wondering, what does it mean to empower people with disabilities? Well, in order to answer this question, let’s start by defining empowerment. According to Merriam Webster dictionary, empowerment is to give power or authority to; authorize. In addition, empowerment is to give ability to; enable; permit. With this said, I believe that in order to empower a person with a disability, there needs to be equal access for all. Access is the key to opportunity, understanding, and most importantly, success. There needs to be equal access to education, employment, housing, technology, etc.
One important way to keep moving society in the direction of more equal access is through advocacy for one’s self and others. Advocacy can be accomplished in many ways, such as spreading awareness. Talking to your family, friends, acquaintances, and state/national legislatures can make a world of a difference. It is a known fact that the more an issue is recognized by others, the more likely the issue will be addressed. Beautifully Blind’s mission is to help empower people through the collaboration between both sighted and blind/visually impaired individuals, awareness, support, and access to assistive technology. If you want to advocate for a specific cause, such as disabilities, it takes one person to make a difference in someone’s life. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Monday, July 5, 2010

Blind to Your Potential...

"Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don't know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!" Anne Frank. Don't be blind to your potential. You were not put on this earth to be ordinary. Everyone has his/her own unique gifts and talents, don't allow yours to go to waste being undiscovered. Has anyone told you lately that you are FABULOUS? No? Well why wait for someone else to tell you? Tell yourself and believe it. Go ahead say it out loud..."I am fabulous!" Feels good doesn't it?! Today take the first step towards unlocking your full potential. First, put aside any self doubt...remember luv, you are fabulous! Second, tune out the naysayers. There will be haters! Yes the haters, those miserable people that will tell you that you can't do or become something and will remind you of every flaw that you have. They only hate because they don't want to see you succeed...ignore them and keep it moving. Third, make a list of all the steps you need to take to get to the end of your goal. Assign yourself deadlines to complete each task; you can start with something as simple as making a phone call or sending off for information. Fourth, let the world see you shine!
Until next time.....Smooches!!!!