Editor’s note: Jacob Ray, a college student who is low vision, reflects on how to self-advocate and take ownership of one’s life.
If I could give advice to my younger self or anyone who is embarking on college or a career, the best advice I would give is to be your own advocate. This does not mean I think everyone should go to law school. It does mean believing in yourself and taking ownership of yourself and your life.
Acknowledge you have a right to opportunities
I believe there are many steps to being an advocate for yourself. First, you have to understand that you have a right to opportunities. For example, in the musical Hamilton, the successful play about Alexander Hamilton, there is repetition in the song “My Shot”. The words of this particular song are like a shot from a gun. They are staccato, rapid, and sung short. It starts with “I am not throwin’ away my shot.” The phrase is repeated throughout the story. The author, Lin-Manuel Miranda, uses a shot to represent and symbolize opportunity.
In the world of disabilities, I think opportunities are like shots. Shots may come and go, but each one is unique. Fundamentally, as a human being, everyone deserves a basic level of respect and opportunity. I believe this to be true in any circumstance.
It is ironic how, in the musical and in real life, the theme is visible. Lin-Manuel Miranda is the author of Hamilton. He was born in Puerto Rico, an economically struggling American territory, and moved to the mainland to start a new life. He created some musicals before Hamilton, but not with as much risk. Miranda wanted to try something new, so he incorporated teaching history with modern music. Writing Hamilton was a risky, one-chance gamble. One has to push limits and take measured risks. You have a right to opportunities; you then have to take them.
Ask for help
Being an advocate also means being vulnerable. I think asking for help is very important.
For example, I have developed a love of fishing. This was not always the situation with me; my brother was the fisherman in my family. He actually studied how to fish, where to fish, and what to fish. He watched videos, read books and magazines, and taught himself to tie special knots. He shopped at outdoor and fishing supply stores. He saved and bought special fishing rods and fishing lures. He practiced casting and how to reel in properly. He learned how to properly treat the fish as so not to hurt them or damage the environment.
I thought I did not like to fish because my line always got caught in some nearby tree and the sun was always in my face. I had to learn to ask for help.
When I couldn’t see because the line was too thin for me, or if the sun reflected too intensely off the water, I would ask my brother for assistance. At first, I thought it was embarrassing, but then I came to realize my vision isn’t something I can control. Since asking for help, I have found a new hobby.
Utilize tools and accommodations
I started talking to my eye doctor about how I was having trouble fishing in the sun and how I wished I could utilize sunglasses and my glasses simultaneously. I told her my brother wore these special polarized fishing lenses with some fancy tint. She showed me amber-tinted clip-on shades.
Because I mostly fish in lakes, ponds, and rivers in the southeast, this was the best color for me, and I was able to get the shades in a special magnetic clip-on style. These have made a difference to both my vision and my fish count. And once I started catching some more fish, it started to be even more fun. I began to appreciate all the things my brother had been talking about. I started doing my own research, started watching Youtube videos, reading online articles, and looking up all that I could online. I practiced the same things my brother did and got better and better.
You, too, can work to obtain the skills, tools, and accommodations that enable you to pursue the interests, hobbies and career-related, that interest you. You have a right to develop your skills and take the shots.
- Parents teaching children to be their own best advocate is the lesson of a lifetime – CareerConnect (aphcareerconnect.org)
- Advocacy: A Lifelong Journey – CareerConnect (aphcareerconnect.org)
Kumbuka Mhariri: Jacob Ray, mwanafunzi wa chuo kikuu ambaye ni maono ya chini, huonyesha jinsi ya kujitegemea na kuchukua umiliki wa maisha ya mtu. Kama ningeweza kutoa ushauri kwa kijana wangu au mtu yeyote ambaye anaanza chuo kikuu au kazi, ushauri bora ningeweza kutoa ni kuwa mtetezi wako mwenyewe. Hii haimaanishi kwamba nadhani kila mtu anapaswa kwenda shule ya sheria. Inamaanisha kuamini katika wewe mwenyewe na kuchukua umiliki wa maisha yako. "Kumbuka kuwa una haki ya fursa, na ninaamini kuna hatua nyingi za kuwa mtetezi wako mwenyewe.""" Kwanza, lazima uelewe kwamba una haki ya fursa. Kwa mfano, katika muziki wa Hamilton, mchezo uliofanikiwa kuhusu Alexander Hamilton, kuna kurudia katika wimbo <unk>My Shot<unk>. Maneno ya wimbo huu hasa ni kama risasi kutoka kwa bunduki. Zinaimbwa kwa kasi, kwa kasi, na kwa muda mfupi. Inaanza na <unk>Mimi si kutupa <unk> mbali risasi yangu.<unk> Maneno ni mara kwa mara katika hadithi. Mwandishi, Lin-Manuel Miranda, hutumia risasi kuwakilisha na kuwakilisha fursa. Katika ulimwengu wa ulemavu, fursa ni kama risasi. Picha zaweza kuja na kwenda, lakini kila moja ni ya kipekee. Kimsingi, kama binadamu, kila mtu anastahili kiwango cha msingi cha heshima na fursa. Ninaamini kwamba hilo ni kweli katika hali yoyote ile. Ni jambo la kushangaza jinsi, katika wimbo wa muziki na katika maisha halisi, mandhari hiyo inavyoonekana. Lin-Manuel Miranda ni mwandishi wa Hamilton. Alizaliwa Puerto Riko, eneo la Marekani lenye matatizo ya kiuchumi, na akahamia bara ili kuanza maisha mapya. Aliunda baadhi ya muziki kabla ya Hamilton, lakini si kwa hatari kubwa. Miranda alitaka kujaribu kitu kipya, kwa hiyo aliunganisha kufundisha historia na muziki wa kisasa. Kuandika Hamilton kulikuwa ni hatari, mchezo wa bahati mbaya wa mara moja. Ni lazima mtu ashinikize mipaka na kuchukua hatari zilizopimwa. Una haki ya kupata fursa; kisha lazima uzitumie. Omba msaada Kuwa mtetezi pia humaanisha kuwa dhaifu. Nafikiri kuomba msaada ni muhimu sana. Kwa mfano, nimekuwa na shauku ya kuvua samaki. Hali haikuwa hivyo sikuzote kwangu; ndugu yangu alikuwa mvuvi katika familia yangu. Kwa kweli alijifunza jinsi ya kuvua samaki, mahali pa kuvua samaki, na nini cha kuvua. Alitazama video, akasoma vitabu na magazeti, na akajifunza kufunga kamba za pekee. Alinunua vitu katika maduka ya vifaa vya uvuvi na vya nje. Aliweka akiba na kununua vijiti vya pekee vya kuvua samaki na vishawishi vya kuvua samaki. Alizoeza kuchezea na jinsi ya kuchezea vizuri. Alijifunza jinsi ya kuwatendea samaki kwa njia inayofaa ili asiwaumize au kuharibu mazingira. Nilidhani kwamba sikupenda kuvua samaki kwa sababu kila mara kamba yangu ilikamatwa kwenye mti fulani uliokuwa karibu na jua lilikuwa likinishambulia uso. Ilinibidi nijifunze kuomba msaada. Niliposhindwa kuona kwa sababu mstari ulikuwa mwembamba sana kwangu, au ikiwa jua lilirudishwa kwa nguvu sana kutoka majini, ningeomba ndugu yangu amsaidie. Mwanzoni, nilifikiri ni jambo lenye kuaibisha, lakini baadaye nilitambua kwamba siwezi kudhibiti uwezo wangu wa kuona. Tangu kuomba msaada, nimepata burudani mpya. "Nilikuwa na wasiwasi na jinsi nilivyoanza kuzungumza na daktari wangu wa macho kuhusu jinsi nilivyokuwa na shida ya kuvua samaki katika jua na jinsi nilivyotamani kutumia miwani ya jua na miwani yangu wakati huo huo. """ Nilimwambia ndugu yangu alivaa lensi hizi maalum polarized uvuvi na baadhi ya rangi fancy. Alinionyesha miwani yenye rangi ya amber. Kwa sababu mimi hasa samaki katika maziwa, vidimbwi, na mito katika kusini mashariki, hii ilikuwa rangi bora kwa ajili yangu, na mimi alikuwa na uwezo wa kupata vivuli katika maalum sumaku clip-on style. Hizi zimebadili maono yangu na idadi ya samaki. Na mara tu nilipoanza kuvua samaki zaidi, ilianza kuwa yenye kufurahisha zaidi. Nilianza kuthamini mambo yote ambayo ndugu yangu alikuwa akizungumzia. Nilianza kufanya utafiti wangu mwenyewe, nikaanza kutazama video za Youtube, kusoma makala mtandaoni, na kutafuta kila kitu nilichoweza mtandaoni. Nilifanya mambo yaleyale ambayo ndugu yangu alifanya na nikawa bora zaidi na bora zaidi. Unaweza pia kufanya kazi ili kupata ujuzi, vifaa, na malazi ambayo hukuruhusu kufuata maslahi, burudani na kazi inayokuvutia. Una haki ya kuendeleza ujuzi wako na kuchukua risasi. - Wazazi kuwafundisha watoto kuwa watetezi wao bora ni somo la maisha <unk> CareerConnect (aphcareerconnect.org) - Utetezi: Safari ya Maisha <unk> CareerConnect (aphcareerconnect.org)