I had livd in the Portland, Oregon Metro area for several years. I completed my Associates Degree, I had worked in several professional rolls, made some nice friends and volunteered in the community.
Recently it became apparent that even with my active lifestyle there was something missing. It took me two years to find out what it was. So what was missing in my life? The pursuit of a Bachelors degree. During those two years of searching I had applied to several state universities, brainstormed potential degrees and I even returned to community college in an attempt to complete prerequisite coursework for a near by, out-of-state university. But even with all of this effort, painstaking research, homework and a job I realized that this was not a good fit for me. I was disoriented by life and didn't know where to turn. Then, a somewhat radical plan began to form inside my head. Forged partly by necessity and partly by the goal of obtaining a bachelors degree. This plan would require me to give up my job, leave my friends and volunteer opportunities and move a crossed the state to a completely new city. At first the plan was just that, a radical plan. Why the hell would I give up all that just to go to school? Because I realized that school would be a long run investment in my future. I applied some simple concepts that I had learned in my Economics classes that I took in community college.
By early summer 2013 i knew that I had to make a plan and put it into action; no more sitting around saying "I'm not sure what I'll do." So I yet again applied to another state university that had my desired degree and spent the summer preparing to move. I knew very little about the city where I would be re-locating to and I wasn't even sure if this plan was going to work. Still, I pushed forward with it; I was going all in, boom or bust, giving up everything and risking it all to get a quality college education. I signed a lease on an apartment that I hadn't ever been to, and I agreed to share the three bedroom unit with two other guys who I didn't know. Why did I take on such a challenge with so many unknowns? Why not! Honestly it felt right in my gut; we should all listen to our gut more often. haha My mentality here was I needed to do something and at this point all other attempts of gaining higher education had failed. I learned after moving that sometimes in life one must give up something in order to get something else (another Economics concept; opportunity cost).
The end of august came and I found myself packing up all of my belongings, selling my furniture, resigning from my job, leaving my volunteer opportunities and saying goodbye to friends and co-workers. I piled everything I had in the back of a large pickup truck and struck out into the unknown. It was like leaving the safety of a boat harbor and heading out into uncharted waters. Looking back, I think the physical moving of possessions was the easiest part of the entire move.
But now what? All of my things are packed in boxes and piled in my new bedroom, I've met my new room mates, who appear to be nice and I'm in a small city where I don't even know where the grocery store is. The reality of the learning curve had just hit me like a ton of bricks. Not knowing where anything is, including the front entrance to my new apartment complex was a stark contrast from the familiar Portland, OR Metro Area. A lot of visually impaired people would have been content to wait for a certified travel teacher (called an orientation and Mobility Instructor) hired by the state to come and show a visually impaired person where everything is. However, I'm not like most people in this position. Armed with my guide dog, Angelina, my trusty old I Phone 3GS (laugh if you like; but my 3GS is a trouper, and besides re-use, reduce and recycle,) and the addresses of the nearest grocery store, I was off. You may be asking yourself "how did you find the entrance to your apartment complex that you mentioned not knowing earlier?" Simple, I walked out into the large parking lot that surrounds the complex and waited for the first car to drive by. Then, Angelina and I sprang into action and began walking at a heart-pumping three and a half miles an hour. I followed the sound of the car in front of us and three minutes later, Angelina and I found the entrance. Success! From there I followed the directions my GPS application was giving me, and when I got close to what I thought mite be the grocery store I began walking into businesses and asking "is this the grocery store?" I learned that on the way to the grocery store, there is a Jimmy John's, local coffee shop and a mechanic's garage. So after finding the grocery store it was double success, I now knew the location of four businesses in my new city. I also got an idea of how helpful people choose to be (this varies from city to city and region to region).
I spent the next two weeks getting to required destinations in the same fashion. But then it was time to learn how to get around my college campus. Unlike local businesses, most college campus buildings do not have address numbers, so a GPS is pretty much useless. I had to throw my pride aside and get help from a local Orientation and Mobility Instructor who showed me the locations of my classes, student support services and the student union building. From there, I was back on my own and with orientation week fast approaching I needed a plan and fast! I went back to basics and showed up to orientation each day with a list of campus building names and room numbers written down on my I Phone and simply started asking other students and faculty. This was the best thing I could have ever done in this situation, because I met so many cool and interesting people. Sure they thought they were helping a poor blind guy get somewhere, but then understood that I was in the same situation that they were in; unsure on a new college campus. Everybody I met was extremely helpful, nice and did not appear to show signs of nervousness about helping somebody who happens to be blind. Perhaps it goes with the territory, or perhaps people that week began to realize that we are all the same in this situation. I knew that I had made the right decision in picking my school and I had made the right decision to strike out on this adventure.
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