About the Author

about me: 

Hi, my name is Jake, and I happen to be visually impaired. Don't let the words "visually impaired," fool you. I'm just like everybody else, and I hope the following blog posts will  prove that.  . I'm the oldest of three and was raised like any  sighted child. Growing up I was expected to pull my own weight and to be a contributing member of society. I had a supportive family, I had friends in school, and I was like anybody else as far as they were concerned. I grew up in a rural Eastern Washington State town and relied on the support from my family and small K-12 school's teachers and support staff to give me a good public school education. Now, several years later, I have successfully worked in several types of professional roles, and am in the process of completing my college education. 

Philosophy:  

I have a can-do attitude, I don't give up and I'm not a quitter. I believe in taking calculated risks, and pushing myself forward. The sky is the limit and I apply myself to go farther, aim higher and do all that I can do, and sometimes that's not enough, so I push harder. I try to be as optimistic  as possible and I take pride in a job well done. I view my visual impairment not as a lost cause, but rather as  a way of life. I am independent and interdependent (just like the rest of the world). Like anybody else I had and still do have challenges, but challenges to me are a good thing. They stimulate the body and mind. They are also what makes this blog worth writing.  I was told at a young age by my Mother "you don't have what the rest of us have; eyesight, so sometimes you are going to have to work twice as hard as your peers to accomplish the same goal." This is the very core of my philosophy. Yes, at times life is challenging and I do have to work twice as hard as others to accomplish the same things, but that's no reason not to do it; you get used to this concept after a while. It's simply mind over matter, and that's something we all have to practice. 

About This Blog: 

Honestly, I'm not your average blind guy; I'm just the opposite. My adventures often times start where the safety of the sidewalk ends, and the unknown begins. It's all about adaptations, knowing one's own strengths and weaknesses and having an open mind. In this awesome world of inclusion, I have to be part crazy, part fearless and part smart, but I wouldn't have it any other way. The following blog posts will hopefully give a detailed account of the adventures of not such an average blind person. So ignore the stereotypes you may have learned from society and rid your mind of the terrible Hollywood images of blind people on TV, and hang on!