5 MORE Things All Sighted People Should Know About Blindness!

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I'm Molly, a typical sushi, makeup, and fashion loving millennial girl who just so happens to be blind! I was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa at just 4 years old and began public speaking at age 5. I started just doing motivational speaking, but now I make videos and even model! Even though I can’t see, I know that there are bright spots in everything we face. Let’s find them together. 💕

[chenilleoneil]

I heard someone say ‘The disabled community is the only minority group you can join at any unforeseen second.’
I think everyone should live with that in mind.

[urturningviolet]

I work in jewelry and I recently helped a woman who is legally blind upgrade her diamond for a bigger one. She started the process by zooming in on her phone to be able to see things more clearly but we were able to find a diamond in her budget that she can see the sparkle of without any aids. She got emotional to be able to see the representation of her love at any time and I felt so amazing helping her do that. Thought that was a beautiful story and time to share it. ❤

[SuperMissblueeyes]

I grew up with two lovely people who went blind for very different reasons, but were both born with sight. Some of my most precious memories with them are seeing the pleasure sweep across their faces when I described things to them. Sadly, I lost one of them to complications of diabetes (which caused her blindness, since not nearly as much was known about diabetes back in the 80s), but both of these women are two of the biggest influences in my childhood. They helped to teach me to look out for others from an early age. They taught me communication skills not everyone learns in their entire lifetime. And because of them, I was able to help a blind couple take their baby for a walk outside the hospital while they waited for their new care plan at home to be approved, before they could take their sighted baby home, while I was working as a midwifery assistant. The other midwifery assistants didn't have the confidence that they could keep the couple & their baby safe, so I was the only person able to do it. These two awesome ladies helped to make me a kinder person.

[cindygronbach]

Using ASL with a blind person reminds me of a former boss who would speak English really loudly to non-English speakers who would come into the office. They don't speak English--they're not deaf!

[ldegraaf]

I'm hard of hearing and use sign language and I've been handed a braille menu at fast food places. I'd heard of others in the Deaf community experiencing this but I thought in today's day and age people would be just slightly more educated, but alas no. I giggled a little when I realized what it was and then explained to them that the braille menu is for blind customers not deaf ones. They then realized how silly a bumpy paper would be in this situation and to their credit asked if I would be more comfortable if they wrote/typed their questions. Overall it was a good interaction and I was able to let them know what accommodations are appropriate and what would be annoying or even rude.

[alexbuzick]

When I was in inpatient therapy a blind patient came in. Because of your videos I was able to help advocate for her to get a proper tour of our unit and asked for an O&M teacher. They had no idea how to help her and I appreciated your videos because I knew how to help her. I also described her pants to her, because she didn't know what she was wearing.

[Wsplyntr]

Hi Molly. I have definitely found hope. I learned a few years ago ( I was 30) that I have early onset Macular Degeneration, and the type I have has no treatment options.

It was a very difficult and scary time in my life, but then I stumbled across your channel. You give me hope. I'm not afraid of going blind anymore. My life doesn't have to end, and all of your experiences have helped me prepare and plan for a life without sight. I can still be me and still live a full and fulfilling life even though I won't be able to see it.

Thank you.

[MySkillfulmeans]

Regarding caring about how things look whether we can see them or not: Most of us sighted people aren't looking at ourselves most of the time, but we are almost always aware of how we *think* we look, how we imagine we look. Sighted or not, we are social beings, and how we present in the world matters to us all (...even those of us who say it doesn't!). ❤ 🌏

[simmergirly]

I work at a banking software company. We JUST started interviewing people with visual/motor/cognitive disabilities. It has truly revealed how much work there is to be done in terms of accessibility in the financial industry. Now we are celebrating GAAD and have an a11y policy 😁

I have watched your videos for years, and can say that you have definitely inspired my passion for accessibility! Keep it up. Your content helps and inspires so many :)

[enaraalcalde]

As a blind girl I am only wanted to say: yes. Absolutely yes.
I really loved this video. It was so good.
Yes, we do use Braille. I have a Braille display, and mine has also a kid of notepad so I can read my notes from college without my computer, export notes from the notepad to the computer so I can do more advanced editing. It is so useful to me and I feel so thankful that I am from Spain and as I am studying they offer me for free, because girl, this costs about 3000 dollars or more...
I am so glad Android is improving this way. i had been an Android user for years, now I have an iPhone and even if I am not thinking on my returning to Android in a near future I am so happy that they are doing so good with accesibility.

[lydwinaofschiedam]

I used to be a certified ASL (American Sign Language) interpreter. When people would ask me what I did for a living and I told them I was an interpreter, some people would respond with, “Oh. You know Braille!!” It was a good opportunity for educating the ignorant 😆😆 people of the world.

[julieannemichelle]

I had a wonderful experience a longtime ago, I went with a blind couple for dinner and a movie. This is before description was an option.
The hubby had been blind since he was around 6 months old and the wife became blind in her twenties. The husband didn’t need any type of describing of anything in the movie but his wife did and I helped her.
I also learned about not helping my friend gather things from a dinner table to put things away due to them not seeing and understanding they have to put things where they know they belong.
When I went to the Braille Institute I learn a lot about helping or not helping a blind person. I used to volunteer, as a student, with other blind students. I was eventually put as a volunteer on Fridays with the blind and deaf students in the ceramics class. I loved being a volunteer!!

[LaceyandDagger]

Thank you so much for this video Molly, and touching on many points lots of people don't know! I became disabled at 18, and completely lost all of my friends because I was no longer "fun" or was "taking advantage of disability" because I was so young. I was harassed and bullied because people assumed because of my age I was just lazy and unwilling to work. Disability isn't the huge pay check people assume it is. I am now 31 years old, and have to survive off $700 a month because that is all I have. I cannot even get food stamps because at least my state considers that $700 "too much" money to have assistance.

A lot of people don't understand how isolating a disability can be as well. I haven't had friends for over 10 years now because the "friends" I did have left when my disability came. Lack of people advocating, or education on how to advocate for yourself causes people like myself to become isolated.

So thank you Molly for bringing awareness, and THANK YOU to all the people advocating for others. <3

[nicoles]

Hello Molly, would you ever consider doing an interview with a disabled subscriber? Love your content!

[AmyJLee]

Also, not every blind person reads braille. That is something to mention. Especially those of us who have lost our vision later in life, Briel is very difficult to learn so we don’t necessarily use it.

[notapplicable]

Totally agreed on universal design! I mean is hard enough to have to go to the bathroom somewhere without bars around the toilet, even much less simple when my wheelchair can't get into the bathroom in the first place...
Am also legally blind too thanks to cataracts early in life, and glaucoma too as an added kicker...

[kaseyd]

#2 actually recently happened to me. I have been watching your videos for quite some time now, so I thought I would have been better about this but that is why I am sharing this story. I went to a laundromat when I was out of town and I was in a big rush. A guy was putting clothes in a washer but the aisle was barely big enough for 2 people to fit. I thought that it was odd he wasn’t being polite enough to move his stuff so I could squeeze past. I thought he could see me and was just being a little inconsiderate. I (quietly and politely) said excuse me as I passed and continued to switch my laundry to a dryer. It wasn’t until he heard me moving my own laundry that he asked if I would help him put the coins in the machine because he couldn’t see. It all made sense then, but I wish I wouldn’t have passed judgement so quickly. He did not have a mobility device, he did not have glasses on, he “looked sighted”. You never know what someone is going through, what someone is working with, or really anything about them so this is a remind to be patient and be kind. 💖

[ellerj]

5:31-5:38 The same goes for deaf people. You never know if the person you're interacting with could be deaf. If someone is not responding to you, tap them on the shoulder or move towards their view (provided they're not blind too) to get their attention. The number of times I have been pushed, grabbed, yanked backwards or sideways, and screamed at (even had a lady shove her shopping cart into mine) I cannot count. It scares me and it scares other deaf people too. We're just minding our own business trying to get our shopping done or whatnot and suddenly we don't know what's going and if we're being attacked or something. Be kind, be respectful, and don't assault people.

[mattishoemark]

I am registered partially sighted and have Nystagmus I feel this is a important issue for evryone to care about. I am constantly bringing up your channel and trying to make people undersand. Thank you for your awsome content.

[victoriat]

as a sighted person these are always super helpful thank u molly!