Category: Let's talk
okay the questian is;
if you could do something that as a blind person you can't do, what would it be?
before you start posting that blindness shouldn't stop us from doing anything if we put our minds to it, i'm actually talking about something that requires sight to do. for example, i was waiting for my taxi to come pick me up to take me to work, and i started thinking, that it'd be nice just to get in a car and drive myself to work, or just be able to just go for a drive for the hell of it sometimes. that's the sort of thing i mean. i wouldn't change being blind for anything, but sometimes i just wish that i could just jump in a car and just go for a drive by myself just for something to do, and just to clear my head.
I agree, Liz. I have always wondered what it would be like to get in a car and drive, I know the gas prices would be insane but like it would be cool in a way to get in a car and drive to work. Or to get in a car and drive to the store or wherever you need to go. Perhaps, it's just the fact I've never really drove before, but yeah, I would really like to drive a car regularly.
I totally agree. I mean I am in high school now, and it makes me jealous that a lot of my friends r already starting to take drivers ed. I mean a lot of my friends have lives and they can do things, but I just wish I could drive too!
i think something like driving just gives you that sense of freedom, and sometimes i wish i could have that for myself. when i was in high school i got gellous cause all the people i was around were getting cars and could just go wherever they wanted to, at any given time, cause they could drive. i've only really steered a car in a padock, and once, my brother let me change geers in the main street of where we live.
Driving is a great feeling of freedom. After I lost being able to drive almost killed me. I use to love the freedom of just jumping in a car and taking off. Now having to rely on others to take me is a pain in the ass for me.
I definitely agree. I feel like not being able to drive is holding me back. I live in the middle of nowhere so I can't go anywhere without having someone drive me. I feel like my family is already busy enough so I try not to bother them. I know if I could drive, I could've had a job by now, and I could've moved out. So not being able to drive has started a chain reaction in my life, I guess, because one thing is connected to another, and not being able to do one has stopped me from doing the rest, leaving me with no life. I hope to be able to change that soon, but it's depressing.
Count me in as another who wishes they could drive. I'd too love to just go to the movies or to one of my friends houses by myself.
Well, here I am, joining the club of could-be drivers. I also live in a rural area. There is a bus system, but it's limited in itself. I have to rely on people to take me most everywhere. The reason I live in this area is because my family is here, but I can't afford to live in the city. I have a child, and as you may know, children are more expensive than you think. I love to ride in the car; the feel of movement, the breeze in my hair, good music, places to go, people to see. If I could, I would ride forever. If I could I would take dqves just to ease the stress or to comfort my infant son. I'd drive us to the park, go get Mc-donald's, go to the grocery store for formula in the middle of the night. I would go to my more personal doctor appointments without feeling slighly embarrased that someone else, (stranger or not) has to take me and sometimes wait on me. If there were an emergency, and one of us needs to get emergency medical attention, I could drive to the hospital without having to call a cab, or wait on family. (Now granted if it were a life-or-death thing, we would call for an ambulance regardless), but still the convinience is there. Yeah Liz, you should have changed your topic to the Wanna-Be Drivers Club. Lol. But, to add a little interesting twist to the discussion, if I could do anything in the world that required sight in this day in age, I would want to be a pediatric nurse. Now, maybe somewhere in the future, we'll have developed technology to a higher level and I could be a pediatric nurse, but as of now, no doctor would ever want a blind nurse working with their patients. And quite honestly, due to the risks and safety issues at stake, I wouldn't blame them. So, other than driving, that would be another thing I would want to do that required sight.
hmmm, i probablly should have, but i don't kno if i can. ah well, and, it's good that Bill shared his experience of being able to drive, but now can't cause of being blind. i agree with Brandy, being a nurse does require sight, cause of having to give the right drugs to a paishent, etc.
Well, I think all of us would want to be in the driving club. We live in such a highly mobile society, and a car is such a status symbol. Putting that asside also, I play music part time. The one thing that I would love to be able to do is sightread music. I think I'd consider quitting my day job and being a studio/session musician.
Good topic. thanks for posting, Liz.
Lou
Well, agreeing with Brandi, something i would love to do if i wasnt blind is be a dockter. I am really fasinated in the "medical" prifession.
But the only thing i would be worried about is the fact that i cant stand blood..it makes me cringe every time i see it,, even just the for menchin of it.
so i guess i would have to somehow magicly ubbtaine more cite then what i all ready have, then get rid of my feer for blood
Other than driving, I have always wanted to be a pilot. I don't really know why, but I have always been fascinated with airplanes and being a pilot and it would be totally awesome to be a commercial pilot. perhaps it's because I love traveling and it would give me the chance to travel all over the world all because it's part of my job.
There's not really anything in particular I'd like to do, but I'm curious about a lot of things regarding sight. I would like to communicate visually with people, such as different expressions and gestures. I also wonder what it's like to watch TV, look at pictures, people watching, etc. I was talking to one of my sighted friends not too long ago, and we both agreed that I don't really have a style, as far as clothing goes. I'd really like to be able to judge for myself what kind of clothing i like, instead of having to rely on others for what looks good. Transportation is great in my city, so getting around isn't an issue, but I do wonder what it would be like to drive.
To post 13, I was told tin incorporate getsures into my speech once. Apparently, I was a little too enthusiastic, and hit someone in the face. Needless tosay, I didn't pursue that mode of communication much after that.
Lou
I wish I could drive like everyone else, but I would like to fly fighter jets. I have always been interested in planes, and flying would be awesome!!
I don't wish to be able to drive; I have driven on occasion but it's something I could get to do very easily if I wanted as there are a number of instructors who will give lessons, free roaming and other services for blind and partially-sighted people. The other issue is that because I live in a city with a very good transport system I wouldn't drive even if I could, and I don't believe there are many drivers who really need to do so as much as they think.
The thing that I feel I miss out on is the unspoken communication that fully-sighted people take for granted. You know, body language, facial micro-expressions and being able to tell everything about a person's face or features without having to be ten inches from them! Oh, and being able to see who someone is looking at by being able to see the direction of their eyes from a distance, that would be nice! *smile*
Now, perhaps there are ways to do this when totally blind, but I'd like to be able to go into a social gathering and just be able to scan the people in a given place, either to find people I might recognize or just to see people's body language to see who would want to talk and who would want to be left alone. To me, this is one disadvantage to being totally blind, especially totally blind from birth, when pretty much all aspects of nonverbal communication are just lost on me.
Hmmm! I'm nor really bothered with sighted communication, hand gestures, expressions Etc Etc as I've been totally blind since shortly before starting School around 20 years back, but I have always, always wanted to just jump in the car, whether its my mum's or even my Grandparents ancient blue volvo, nicknamed the rollercoaster by me for obvious reasons, just to be able to go out to Sainsbury's and choose what I'd like to eat for the week, go inm to town and do some clothes shopping and choose something I wanted or that I thought I look really trendy or smart in rather than going in with my mother who turns her nose up at almost anything for young people these days so going shopping in a nearby town with a big M and S where most things go up to my size, is I'd say, a total nightmare. I just have to grin and bear it with the clothes I have already. I'd also go down Mcdonnalds for lunch, when I have children I could just round them all up after a trip to the park, get them home in one piece and not lose any on the way and just to cruise round and enjoy myself like most other people can who have full sight. Also if there was a pop concert, gig, film on at the pictures which I wanted to see, I could go part way there in the car then get the train, tube or bus the rest of the way so I wouldn't be cruising round for a parking space and missing all the fun when I reached the venue, I could go on and on and on, but to cut what's becoming a long story short, I'd just be a free spirit, cruising round in my very own sporty tblue two-seater convertable with the whole town listening to my base box, lmfao. If I had kids of course, I'd have to upgrade to an Audi A3 or A6. Best cars on the planet. I should know. My uncle's in the process right now, of paying for his own in installments, lmfao. They're roughly £26000 each! Fuck me!
Or perhaps, I should just stick to a bike, a BMX or Volcom Blaze, both
absolutely class models. More environmentally friendly so that would tie in with my passion for conservation and saving every single endangered speecies I can, just by switching electrical appliances off and unplugging them when I'm not using them, not consuming so much water, though that's easier said than done especially in our house as it takes between 15-20 minutes to get a bath round here as the pumps all the way down the bottom of our hill and we're fairly near the top so our taps're next to useless if and when you need water. I wouldn't fork out so, so much money on screenreaders, braille books and magazines, talking books machines, CDs Etc Etc. I wouldn't be wearing headphones and using JAWS right now if I was able to see a desktop/laptop screen. I'd be able to just go in to Smiths and buy any books, magazines Etc that everybody else just takes for granted and read them without having to pay VAT, postage and packing for Braille ones from RNIB. I'd just be like my mum, Grandparents, Aunts Uncles, Cousins and sighted friends who jsut take all these things for granted.
Jen.
Yeah, I definitely see your points. The thing is, even if we were able to drive, we would still have to fork out a lot of cash for car repairs, insurance, and anything else we would want to add to it like a sweet stereo system or something. So I guess it kind of amounts to the same thing when you think of the fact that most blind people get SSI just for being blind, and even though all the stuff we need is way overpriced in my opinion, it's kind of the same thing. Sighted people complain about their car insurance rates, adn we complain about how much screenreaders cost. But I know how you feel about just wanting to get in the car and drive, I talked about that in my other post, but I would give just about anything to be able to do that.
Well, if it were something the gods would grant me, I’d very much like to wander earth on foot without worrying about food, clothes,or shelter, like a transient or homeless man. I’d join some small group of vagabonds who’d take me in as family, as one of their own for protection from evils and odds, and we’d be willing to work where ever a helping hand were needed, thus supporting ourselves financially. We’d sneak past borders or security on our way to Europe, Asia, Africa, and all the other continents…all the other countries. We’d make our bed in alley ways, in public parks, bus stations and train terminals; we’d avoid airports altogether for we’d find airplane rides extremely boring. Seeing all that the human race is responsible for up close, experiencing the dangers of ghettos as well as what makes them beautiful, admiring the beauty of foreign women and just exotic every day people, strolling through wealthy neighborhoods to behold architecture and mansions, luxurious cars; losing myself in wildernesses and forests or climbing mountains; voyaging the seas on a ship, disappearing in one city to appear in another via train-hopping, just drifting along assuming the role of looky loo; all these things are what I’d do if the gods would only grant it. Sure, I am able to do these things now if I were determined enough, but I’d be significantly limited. You can't stop a fool from fantasizing...
I'm not at all bothered about driving--I have no need for it really. I guess it would be nice to have that freedom and be able to do exactly what you want exactly when you want to do it, but it's just not something I've ever really been sad about missing out on. I would, however, love to be able to just walk into a library or bookstore and read whatever happened to catch my interest. That's the number one thing I think of when I hear questions like this. Just to be able to go in and browse, or sit and read in one of those bookstores with the little couches and coffee and stuff. I would also like to be part of the picture-taking world, and yes, I realize blind people can carry cameras and get pictures just like sighted people if they want to, but it's not the same thing. I want to be able to see the pictures I'm taking, and look through photo albums and so on. Being able to see what's in museums and what's written on the little information cards and things would be nice as well. I love museums. And then of course there are the simpler things--seeing the faces of friends and family, being able to actually understand what it means to say the sky is blue and the grass is green, seeing birds in flight, et cetera. Just all the little nuances of life that we miss out on as blind people.
Also, if you're really interested in other blind peoples' thoughts on this topic, this post will give you many more answers.
I lost my sight all of a suden two and a half years ago. I was involved in a car accident. Even though this occured I still miss driving. I miss choosing my own clothes. The facial expressions, well while they are helpful you can tell lots from tonations. What I miss the most is the ability of looking at the stars and moon at night. Wondering if we are alone. Wishing I could be able to take a trip in outer space. Silly i know but....So, yea I wish I could see the stars, moon, and clouds. I use to drive late at night to the florida everglades where there is no light pollution and you could see every star up there. There are like millions of millions of them. Some seem close to you and others you have to squint your eyes. Sometimes my eyes would play tricks on me, and I would think I was seeing some sort of space ship. lolIt would trip me out! Just thinking of all those of stars and wondering, are we alone?
Besides being able to drive, I would love to be a vet.