*exhales*
Hey dudes! My name is Samantha Coleman and I am making a YouTube video.
*exhales*
So, my dude James Rath has tagged me.
I should probably say that I am qualified for this tag because I am a visually impaired person.
I am a VIP.
Um... so...
(God, I hate myself for that.)
I am not a medical expert on this, I am just a person who has the thing.
Let's get into it, shall we?
First question, what caused you to be blind or visually impaired?
So, I have an eye disease called Keratoconus.
"Kerato" stands for the cornea and "Conus" stands for cone.
So that means that the cornea mishapes from a regular circular shape to a cone shape.
Think of it as a transition from a basketball to a football.
Yeah, not so pretty.
In 3 words, describe your vision.
Three? Okay.Um...
The first word I would use is "halos."
So that kind of means that if I look at something I can't see it clearly no matter what.
And my eye can't really focus on it because what's happening is that light is being distorted.
I don't usually describe it as "halos" but that's what the internet calls it and that's what medical... people call it.
So, I'm gonna... I trust them.
The second word is my own adjective and it's called "popcorn ceiling."
Now, I know you're thinking, "what is a popcorn ceiling?!" Let me tell you!
So, it is this kind of ceiling that exists, The texture of it is raised so it feels like little bumps.
Now, I don't feel bumps on my eye but I kind of feel like there is always this sort of grey... kind of bumpin; out and moving... around everything.
It's kind of like a filter. Okay, third word! Filter!
It feels like a weird filter. It feels like someone put the old filter on everything.
This old, cinematic filter, which is kind of makes the world a little bit darker and more pixelated. So it's not as clear.
That's kind of how I describe it... blurry, not a lot of light and... yeah.
What is the hardest thing to do when blind or visually impaired?
Hm.
The abelist society that we live in.
Now I know that's a broad, broad spectrum and there's a lot that's covered under that.
But I say that because I was born totally sighted.
The hardest part is that I was a kid with 20/20 vision and I remember getting congratulated on that.
As if it's something you can achieve, or you earn, or is better than.
I think that being instilled on me when I was so young really messed me up.
Because it made it harder for me to accept my blindness and some days, it makes it really hard to still do that.
I would say the hardest part is definitely society views blindness, and disability as a whole.
What's the best part about being blind or visually impaired?
There's a lot.There is a LOT! And I'm gonna have to say the community.
ABSOLUTELY the community.
'Cause, no matter what happens to you you have people around you that are here to support you and here to help you, and...
...make you... do YouTube videos when you're too scared to do them.
What question do you get asked most?
Oh, okay. So. I am also hard of hearing which I'll save for another video if you guys want me to?
(tell me that you want me to do another video or I'll not do it ever again.)
So the hardest part about that is that I'm also hard of hearing, so therefore I am a deafblind person.
I think that I get that question, "what does deafblind mean? How are you deafblind?"
"You have some sort of sight, you can see me, and some sort of form of hearing because you can hear some things."
And if you want me to do another video on that... let me know?! I guess. Oh goodness..
Ugh, my Long Island accent is about to come out, brace yourself.
...a dog... ugh.
Do you have a cane, a guide dog, or neither?
I don't have a cane or a guide dog! Nope!
They're there to help, but right now? I'm okay.
(I'm memorizing questions before I say them and answer them.)
(...I can't. I'm pretending like I can read it, but I can't.)
What piece of advice would you give to someone who is losing, is going to lose, or has lost vision?
(I think that's the question, sorry.)
You are not broken.
You Are Not Broken.
My best piece of advice is that you are not broken, you can live a full, fulfilled life, just as you are.
I know, I was there, I felt totally helpless and I was told I couldn't do anything.
I still get told to this day that I'm never gonna succeed in what I want to do because I can't see very well or I can't hera very well.
And it sucks but, yeah.
You. Are. Enough.
You are gonna be okay.
You're gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. We're all gonna do it.
You are not broken, you are enough.
What piece of advice would you give to someone who is sighted, about interacting with someone who is blind or visually impaired?
Every single person is different.
Your perception of what blindness may be, or visual impairment or low vision,
it may be different than for what it is for that person.
So the best thing you ca n do is be open.
Ask questions.
And... work together.
Because this is all about communication, it's a two way street. S,o ask.
Ask, ask, ASK!
People tell me all the time that they don't feel like they can, they feel like they're always being weird or it's overstepping,
and you kind of know when it's overstepping.There's a difference between...
There's a difference between asking, "how can I get your attention in a way that is most effective?"
And asking something that's maybe not so appropriate.
But we can work together and you can see all the parts of me that are great,
and I can see all the parts of you that are great, whether that is by seeing or without seeing... boom.
Why did you join YouTube?
James Rath made me. No, I'm kidding.
Um, but he did. So.
Peer pressure is terrible but it works. No, okay.
This is so weird because I have so many reasons but I can't articulate them. It's really hard to articulate.
So I was diagnosed with both my hearing and my vision decreases, if you will.
I turned to the internet and I desperately tried to find anything I could that...
...made me feel like I wasn't alone.
My entire life shifted, my entire life changed. My identity changed
And... I didn't see myself represented. Anywhere.
I didn't see any stories of someone with a disability like this.
Maybe, just maybe....
Maybe. One person will stumble upon this video and they'll feel less alone.
Name 3 people to do this tag?!
I'm the new girl in school? So I don't really know anyone here Um.
So I'm gonna tag you. Yes, you.You right there.
Because... you're here for a reason and maybe that reason is because you are a VIP: a visually impaired person.
Do i t. AND,! IF you do, tell me!
Find me on the internet.I'm here.
If you want me to do more videos or something, let me know, dudes! Um...leave a comment?? Like??
Follow me on Twitter. Find me on Facebook. Links will be below.
Check our my dude James Rath on his YouTube channel, I will link it below.
Also, check out my website!I It's: Samantha-Coleman.com
I guess I'm done with this...
(*Quietly* Alright!) ....I'm okay,.... *exhales* I'm sweating.
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