Question

Helen Keller said, "The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision." What does that mean to you?

Answer 1

Many people who face the challenges of being disabled feel defeated and incapable of helping or inspiring others. Helen Keller did not let her disabilities faze her. She was an American educator who was both blind and deaf. Keller was able to learn how to read, write, and communicate with people which furthered her goal of aiding others who dealt with similar tribulations. Her vision was to impact and give hope to those who were dealing with hardships she was overcoming. By conquering those adversities and being involved in organizations that assisted the blind community and society, Keller became an inspirational 20th century humanitarian.

            Learning how to communicate with people gave Keller the drive to attain higher knowledge from a university. She wanted to go to Harvard but because of the societal roles at the time, only men could go. As a result, Keller went to a prestigious women’s college, Radcliffe, where she “...graduated... in 1904 with honors”, thus, overcoming the obstacles put forth by society.. Others may say that this was not a consequential accomplishment but considering the fact that she was not only blind but deaf as well, it clearly defied the societal thoughts. Many people who were just blind or just deaf, did not think of getting college-level education. However, when Keller was officially the first blind and deaf person to graduate from a reputable university, many disabled people were inspired by her and “normal” people looked at her in a different, more respectful way Today, in the United States, 60,393 blind students are enrolled in some sort of higher education (National Federation of the Blind). Her success influenced society by showing them that education is key and knowledge is what is needed most in order to achieve goals. In her autobiography, Keller wanted people to understand that not being able to hear or see does not stop one from accomplishing goals