Category: Let's talk
Think of everybody in your life, and tell me who has inspired you the most. It can be a parent, a friend, a boyfriend/girl friend, co-worker, sibling, or anyone else. Let's make it someone who's alive now. A deceased person could have inspired you, but let's make it in the here and now. My greatest inspiration is a teacher I had in elementary. She and I are still friends. She taught me how to survive. I also have a good friend who inspires me, believes in me, and gives me emotional support. I am inspired by family members as well.
My son, He is autistic and I have watched his courage and determination all of his life. We were told that he would never speak, he would always be extremely violent and that in the end we would have to put our own son in a locked down mental unti because of his violence. I yanked my son from those quaks as quick as I could and ran for dear life. I found a great program for him and have watched that little man struggle beyond belief to overcome his severe problems to become a sweet and caring person. Oh he is still autistic, not one of the miraculous savants that are "cured" and he is retarded. But by god he is alive, lives in his own apartment, even if it is only 2 doors down from mine, he goes to church and is very eager to be of help to people and would never even think of going violent now!!! That shows that just because some fool has a degree does not mean they have the answers! Some people are strong enough and determined enough to overcome ANY disability!!
Tonja
My dad, when he's not in his aggressive and negative moods, inspires me. His spiritual nature and passion for music and sense of humor and the way he looks at life shaped my life growing up. He helped me face a lot of fears and to overcome a lot of obstacles. My second biggest inspiration would actually be a zoner. I don't know how many of you know Tiff a.k.a. ablindgibsongirl but she's been my best friend for almost 12 years and has seen me through all the horrible teenage times and influenced me with the courage to look at myself as an empowered blind person and gain true independence from the stereotypes and conformities of society. She also, moreso than my dad, has been my spiritual guide and mentor.
Great question Dream.
My Father & Brother.
Stevie for his uncomplicated friendship, perseverence and sense of humour,in the midst of abject ignorance.
Connor. Again for his humour and refusal to give in to circumstance.
Ardeth my partner for her stoical courage in the face of serious illness.
Damien who just says why cant you do it.. I can,so why no you eh?.
Jamie Andrew a quadruple amputee climber who wants to climb K2, and he will.
Ranolph Fienes the incredible polar explorer. Who at 61, is climbing the infamous Eiger this year, fair play to the man I love him.
Oh Tonja, that's beautiful, and so are the other posts. Inspirational people are a gift from God.
Hmm. I think a big inspiration for me are some friends of mine in special ed classes I used to helpout/work in. (actually they were some of the students I worked with, but I consider them friends.) Although all were nice to work with, 3 especially come to mind. Blake and Chase (from a school I had worked at), and Michael )from my high school special ed class). They taught me that even though a person might seem like they're physically and mentally unable to communicate or that they're not aware or really understanding about others around them, especially if that person has another disability, that all that's not true, and that you should try not to make assumptions about quality of life or abilities based on the disabilities another person has. Blake has multiple disabilities due to a terminal disorder and taught me that such people are still aware of others and capable of communicating meaningfully. Admittedly I had the opposite assumption of multihandicapped people before that, but I learned that they are just as equal as anyone else. Chase was mostly nonverbal and had autism, but had helped me to throw away something in the trash can and was going to lead me back to the chair until the teacher separated our hands. (At the moment, I was just shocked but didn't know how to react to that.) Anyway, but I didn't know he knew I couldn't see. I mean, he could see, but I didn't know he paid any attention about it because I didn't really hear him being mentioned by the teachers about anything, and usually those were the students that weren't included much if at all in activities or that couldn't or wouldn't interact with others much. (At least that's what I noticed.) Michael was also autistic, but I think the cool part was when when he said not to drop out. His teacher and I were talking about how my college classes were going, and she said not to drop out and told Michael to tell me that. Usually when he repeats someone or asks for something, he does it in a question form and says it in a normal speech rate, not too fast, but, just the way one would normally speak. But when he is making a comment that he did not repeat (which only happened one other time when I was there anyway), he seems to speak more hesitantly or something. And that's how he was saying "don't drop out", and my mom said that his expression looked like he meant it. All the students I worked with, especially these 3, inspired me to see everyone as people and not just for the disability/disabilities they have, and to become a special education teacher.
Hmmm, there are many people who have inspired me.
I think a lot of my teachers did, there was one who had a disabled son, he made sure i could do all the things the other kids, even drive tractor in Agriculture class.
My best friend Tinson, who i've known for over 8 months who recently became something more to me and who has done so much for himself and for me.
I think also many other young people i've met who i went on Youth Insearch camp with who have trialed over adversity in their lives.
anyone who has had shit happen and stands up for themselves and says, i'm not going to live like this anymore is a hero to me.
as for historical inspiration, since i feel i should mention it as many istorical figures inspire me,
Maximilien Robesierre, Jiordano bruno, for not giving in to the spannish inquisition and Wilfred Owen.
Gosh, for me, there are several people that inspire me. one is my nan. she's always been around, even through cancer several times. i couldn't have done half my life without her. Another is mum, coping with my blindness amongst other things that were going on in her life at the time, and i'm sorry, but i have to mention this person, even though they're no longer here. My friend suzannah. she was terminally ill, but taught me a lot. her determination to do things was huge and i experienced many things with her.
God inspires me the most. But among people ... hmmmm. My religion teacher in primary school. She was totally blind, but went to Chile and Peru each holidays to help people who live on the street. That is great.
wow ines, that's so cool that she did that. nice inspiration.
Yeah really. And it has been ten years ago now, or ... well eight actually, and this dream is still alife. And I want to do more than just holiday work. I want to be a missionary and help such people daily.
A lot of folks have been inspirations for me throughout my life.
However, one that comes to mind was named Tommy Thomas. I don't know if he is living today as the last time I saw him was when I was thirteen years old.
He was a university of texas student who belonged to a scouting fraternity that helpped out with the boy scouts at the school for the blind.
After his fraternity lost interest in the scouts Mr. Thomas got a job with the school and continued working with the scouts.
He taught me a lot about self confidence, about morality without bigotry, and the benefits of a positive self image.
I last saw him when the school fired him for fighting to keep the scout troop when they wanted to close it.
Later, in college, I joined the same fraternity (alpha phi omega), and got the opportunity to work with mentally handicapped boy scouts to try to repay Mr. Thomas's faith in a bunch of rag tag blind kids.
Bob
I recently heard about the bravery of Morgan Tsvangari a poltician and dissident who opposes Mugabe.
He was recently savagely beaten for daring to speak out
However his opinion had not changed, his conviction is as strong as ever and he intends to fight on a for a free Zimbabwe, I sincerely hope he succeeds. Probably with his life.
Jimmy Reid a communist shipyard worker from Glasgow, who fought for the shipyard workers when the english were determined to drain the lifeblood out of Scottish industry.
In a famous speech to his workers he said.
This will be a peaceful protest there will be no swearing, no fighting, and no bevvying. {Drinking}. We will conduct ourselves with dignity because the world is watching us.
A fine man of strong conviction always on the side of the common man.
..inspired the most by~
two persons that
on another set of Boards
I have came to admire
Fantastic Art work
in the area of Graphics
AND
MUSIC..
Ah!
Splendid beyond compare
cc
c.g.
..although deceased
GWEN Frostic ~A Lady~
Mattie Stepanek
Steven Hawking
Nick Drake of course, just omg.
and one of my exes, my first proper bf, poor guy, but he's amazing. I'd go up to him and hug him now just for being so amazing, except his bones might literally shatter or bend and if they bend, they won't ever set back, so...
honestly what do you say to someone like that? you look at them and see this amazing person stuck in there, trying to be heard, and your heart hurts but you can't show it because a lot of people think that's too close to pity, and think pity is a weakness.
...sometimes though when a person's head hurts so awfully bad, it can oft times be that yet another person, if they are truly looking, well, sometimes another is given to see, to know deep within the pain that another is bearing...
My parents have inspired me greatly, because they try and show the best for and to their children and they are the ones who are always there. A couple of friends have also inspired me and some blind people have inspired me greatly. One of them is called Joan Brock. I have never met her, but have read her book and saw a movie about her. There is also more info and videos on her on youtube, so if you type
Joan Brock
into the search box there, it would give you the results.
in no particular order...
Nick drake, the guy amazes me, his music is just something else
my uncle, my parents and grandparents in lots of different ways
Lory because there are people in this world who just amaze me with every little thing they do...
Iyana in a strange way, not quite figured out how yet or how to describe it, but
my first true girlfriend in countless ways
spike milligan
john peel
more i'm sure...
My friend Mike, aka Arcanus Shadowborne. He's just been a great friend to me, and he's taught me that it's better to stand proud and tall for what you believe, rather than skulking in the shadows and letting injustice go unpunished.
I would say my father. He wouldn't be the first person I'd talk to about my problems, but I respect his intellect, his abilities to problem solve and his ability to make the right decisions day in and day out.
As for historical figures, I would say problem Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
well, I don't want to reveal too much about this guy he has been the target of a lot of blind people and don't need more, he's even more ecentric then I am, and a lot of people can't stand him, but his name is charles. He taught me a lot about myself, life, who I need to be, the principals which I must embrace, and helped me out be a better person, I wrote a great essay about him, it about inspires everyone.
On a deep-sea fishing trip from Ventura, fate decreed that I meet someone who would completely change my outlook on life. Charles was a low partial who studied psychology and worked as a blind rehabilitation counselor. For five hours, we fished and talked. It was through our conversation that I was changed.
It was an incredibly touching and informative experience. I gathered much information as we explored different topics, such as computers, Old English, disability rights, different philosophies, and even psychology. What was even more intriguing was that this experience occurred completely by chance. It opened my eyes about humankind, what some of my rights are, and even a book title. However, most importantly, I had the opportunity to meet a precious friend and mentor, perhaps for a lifetime.
During our conversation, I realized there are people in the world who are caring and supportive individuals. More importantly, there are scholars out there such as Charles, willing to share their knowledge with curious youngsters who want to learn. I also learned there is not only one answer to some questions, but there may be thousands. Charles made me think of these great revelations, giving me a wider perspective.
He was also rather accepting of my eagerness to know more and encouraged it. I felt very light and happy on the trip as I have never felt before, extremely eager to learn more, and very thankful that I met him.
Before the trip, I was a typical day-dreaming and book-loving fifteen-year-old. I loved Harry Potter dearly and was considerably obsessed with it. I was also the girl who thought she knew her British and Old English. However, Charles made me think through my values – in a very gentle fashion. By introducing me to books such as Atlas Shrugged, he made me realize who I was, and my potential. This also showed me that there were good books out there. I started reading nonfiction after that. After the trip, I also made new types of friends. I made connections with people that I thought did not exist.
Prior to meeting him, I intended to work with the English language for life, but he made me realize what was in psychology. Not only did he make it sound interesting, but he convinced me that it was a good path to choose. He clearly detailed how psychology worked and what it explored. He showed me how interesting it was and how it may affect people. Also, he explained the different types of techniques in psychology such as the method used by clinical psychologists and the method used by the humanistic psychologists. I benefited in this by understanding more and learning even more about life and its mysteries. Not only did I benefit from the experience as a whole, I also realized psychology might just be my field. This essentially was the most beneficial detail I gathered from my trip, and this discovery has, and will, continue to change and shape my life.