The Being Blind Doesn't Mean You Can't See What Matters

    Caroline Casey: Looking Past Limits

In a TED Talk from Caroline Casey, the true meaning of limits, labels, and how they have no power or meaning over us is revealed.  She starts off with a story about how she would always go with her little, visually impaired sister in to the eye specialist, "because big sisters are always supposed to support their little sisters".  It just so happened to be Caroline's 17th birthday, which the doctor had somehow known and he asked her what she was going to do to celebrate.  She said that she was going to learn how to drive.  Then the doctor asked her mom, "You haven't told her yet?", and from that moment on she had learned that she was legally blind.  She then goes on to say that she has a condition known as ocular albinism, meaning that she cannot see about 2-3 feet past her eyes.  She rushed out of the doctor's office angrily, and committed herself to make sure that no one would ever discover that she was blind, because that would make her seem weak.  She had many jobs until 1999, when wshe was 28, she actually talked to an HR manager saying that she was blind, and she needed help.  She was told that she should try something different, and she went home frustrated.  Then as she was going on one of her regular walks, she was inspired to be an elephant handler.  She started a business was able to raise enough money to give 6,000 people cataract operations.

Caroline starts her story off personal, with a dramatic event that creates an instant connection with her.  How she starts off with an event in the early years of her life, and ends with how she came to TED, allows people to make even greater connections to her story, and gives a sense of completion and satisfaction to the story.  She talks of being free and denying her true self at the same time, giving a conflict that is resolved at the end.  She uses expressive language which creates an amazing visual picture in your head.  She never got off topic and kept to her own story, making the story unique, unlike others that use many multiple stories and examples, this one can hold it's own.  I truly feel that if a blind person find a way to live their life the way they've always wanted to, why can't I?  Why can't you?  Why can't anyone?  All we have to do it try, truly try, to be what we want.  In school, we may feel constrained by rubrics and deadlines, but if you can find what you want to do, and don't give up on it, you can find it, just like Caroline.  Whether you live in America like me, or on the other side of the world, you can accomplish anything if you push past your limits.  I would definitely recommend this video to anyone who need inspiration or just a way to kill time, you will not regret those 15 minutes!

To see more dramatic TED Talks, go to: http://www.ted.com/talks