Dear Addie,
Last night I was privy to an amazing speech given by John Samuel who just happens to be the CEO of Ablr 360 -a disability inclusion and digital accessibility company. His speech was the story of how he came to be what and who he is today, but while he stood in front of us poised with confidence, it was a far cry from how he felt coming to terms with his vision loss as a college student. Addie, he has a disease called retinitis pigmentosa and he is blind. He spent years trying to adapt to this world while holding his disability a secret. Years later, after much success, he was in an interview and was asked to describe himself in one word. He said “fun.” Having only heard him speak for the first time last night I can imagine that “fun” is probably wildly accurate for him but I digress. There was silence after his one-word answer and then his interviewer replied “I’m so glad you didn’t say hopeful.”
Such a weird thing to say to someone right?! The statement festered in him and he concluded quickly that the interviewer who was so pleased with his response must not have ever been told there was no hope for something in their life. Good to be them, right?! Any special needs parent and/or individual will tell you that somewhere along their journey they've been told of the lower expectations we should have on accomplishing things in life - sad isn't it?!
As I was sitting there listening to all of this, I couldn’t help but think that I recently gave a speech at a fundraiser for your beloved farm camp on what that camp meant to us and I ended it by stating “hope lives here.”
As of today, I have been writing these letters to you for 7 years and when I reflect back on this time, it’s always been about hope.
Hope that we will learn to navigate a world together that is not designed for you.
Hope that we can educate others on our differences.
Hope that we are faced with kindness and compassion.
And hope that our futures are full of greatness and purpose.
Addie hope is not a cliché, it’s the seed to make the impossible possible and with that, great things can only grow from there. John’s story was full of hope for not only what he needed to make a successful life for himself but also for so many others.
I started these letters 7 years ago and still today I have so much hope for what’s to come for you Ad.
Always stay hopeful my sweet girl.
I love you.
Mom
Comments