Public Speaking

A couple of days ago, I went to Smitha, the middle school I went too, to speak to a class about blindness, the possible changes it will bring about, and how if dealt with properly, those changes will not prevent a person from leading a normal life. Of course, I had Mason with me, and he was a big hit with all the students. If you ask me, he's the reason they paid attention to half of what I had to say (lol.) Anyway, I was expecting to have to come up with some sort of speech. The problem with this was I never viewed myself as different so it's kind of hard for me to understand some of what others want to know when it comes to living a life like mine. Luckily, I had nothing to worry about. The students took care of everything for me. I gave them a short introduction about who I am and what I do and spent the rest of the 45 minutes letting them ask questions and answering them. I was surprised at some of the things they wanted to know. Questions such as how do you get along with your roommates, how do you do your work and get to class, and how do you go to the store, among many others were ideas that I've never put much thought in to. I guess it goes to show you that there is a lot about blindness, along with other disabilities, that people are clueless about.
All of this got me thinking. If this one class of students had so many questions, there were bound to be many others who needed to be educated. Then I thought about how many places and people I could visit to help change this. Of course, it would be nice to have others doing the same thing, and maybe that will happen one day. I'm sure there is a career oppurtunity for people out there somewhere. The trick is to get the word out there that you're willing to make these types of visits. If that happens, there will surely be many people who would want to meet and here from me and many others.