In 2009, the NFB of Connecticut held a writing contest with the theme: "Why I Like Being a Blind Person". We had several excellent submissions, and the judges had a difficult time choosing a winner. Here are the very close runners-up.

Second Place:
Blindness Equals Empowerment
By Stefanie Ramirez

Empowerment comes in many forms. For me, empowerment comes in the form of legal blindness. Living with a visual impairment has empowered me to teach others what it means to be blind; it has boosted my sense of self-confidence and courage. Sharing this empowerment with the world is why I like being legally blind.

Being visually impaired empowers me to teach others about what it means to be blind. Society has many misconceptions about blindness; some may view us as people who are needy and incapable of being independent. Faced with these misconceptions, I have two choices-I can become discouraged and start to believe what people say, or I can try to teach others the truth about blindness. It could be that someone approaches me and asks me straight out to explain my visual impairment, or something simple like assuring someone that I can do a certain task, even though I don't do it the way they do.

Each opportunity is a source of empowerment for me because I can debunk these false notions and teach someone that blindness is a minor inconvenience, not something that prevents you from living life and enjoying the same things sighted people do.

Living with a visual impairment has made me more confident in myself, and confidence is empowerment. I've had to learn to speak up for myself and to not be ashamed when I need to take out a magnification device to assist me. That confidence didn't come easy, it was a learning process that involved searching within me to find the strength to be my own advocate. Had I not been legally blind, I may not have ever found that same degree of self-confidence within myself.

I felt so discouraged in high school when all my friends were learning to drive and getting their licenses and I couldn't share this teenage milestone with them. However, I realized that I couldn't let blindness get the best of me. I have nothing to be embarrassed about, and I've learned that being brave in the face of adversity empowers me and also serves as a positive example for others who are blind or visually impaired.

I didn't always like being legally blind. I didn't always feel this sense of empowerment. It was a long process of growing and learning with the help of others. But once I reached that point of complete empowerment I realized that I could accomplish anything and hopefully make others aware of the meaning of blindness. I live my life as a confident and positive person living with a disability; and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Third Place:
The Ten Best Things About Being Blind
By Reid Fleming

I lost my eyesight ten years ago at the age of thirty-two. Along with my sight, I lost my fiancée, and my wiener dog Sledge went to that eternal farm when I was at my lowest. However, I'm happy to report there's a good side to blindness as well. In fact, I can rattle off ten great things about being blind easy as pie.

One. The first best thing about being blind is NLS books. You can get thousands of books and magazines, on tape, digitally, or in Braille, delivered to your home, returned at your leisure-for free. Is America great, or what?

Two. At airports, blind people can board early if they like, and I say-why not? You get a nice stewardess to show you to your seat before the crowds come, and there's no worrying about having room in the overhead bin. Plus, twice I've been bumped up to first class. Sweet.

Three. Related to travel is discount bus fares. I know, if we are ever to receive full acceptance, we have to pay equally. But, I'm what some might call frugal, and saving a buck makes me happy.

Four. Using Braille is like being in a selective club where we use a secret language. In other words, every kid's dream-come-true. I was at a meeting one time, and this blowhard was blabbering on while I used my BrailleLite to write-I wish this guy would just shut up. Everybody probably thought-Oh, look at how interested Reid is, taking notes-what a great employee!

Five. Guide dogs are incredible animals, some of the best dogs on the planet-and we can have them almost for free. Think about it-these highly trained helpers and companions and all you have to do is work, love, and take care of them.

Six. Here's a fun thing. Next time you're at a party, pick someone out that you want to meet, and have a friend describe them in detail. Make your way over and join in on a conversation, and get to know the person a little. Ask how tall they are, or how old they are, and then say you've developed a mental picture of them, and describe them exactly. Freaks them out!

Seven. Blind people are not forced to look at all the ugliness in the world. There's undocumented amounts of garbage and graffiti and dog poop and suburban blight out there-and it's not pretty.

Eight. The other side of that coin is that people all become better looking than they really are. When I'm talking to someone, I never imagine they have a boil on their neck, or really crooked teeth, or are having a really bad hair day-even though they might.

Nine. There's an old cliché-out of sight, out of mind, and it's true. What cobwebs? There's nothing wrong with that wallpaper!

Ten. The final reason I like being a blind guy is because I get to hang around blind people. Before I went blind, the only other blind person I ever met was my second-cousin Zebediah, and the court agreement says I can't really talk about him. But I've met all kinds of blind people at NFB conventions-artists and lawyers and BEP operators and computer programmers and tattoo artists-and you realize there's nothing that can't be done. Just work up your courage and figure it out.

Fourth Place:
Kiss Me; I'm Blind
By Alfonse DeLucia

Blindness suits me. I positively identify with blindness. It is as much a part of me in as much as it is not. I wear it well. It feels right, cozy, like the fit of your favorite pair of jeans, the heat on your face as you sit before the crackling fire you've just built in your home's hearth or the sense of certainty and confidence that fills you as you become one with the world while traveling with the long white cane.

I was as meant to be a person who is blind as much as I was meant to be Italian. Of course there are those who say: "Well you don't necessarily suffer the corrosive stigma of the Italian condition, and you especially don't have to struggle with your grief over having become Italian."

Consider the following syllogism: Premise a. A diagnosis of blindness means that the individual is obligated to be blind. Premise b. Each individual has a right to choose or to disallow his or herself from experiencing happiness. Conclusion: The individual who is blind can choose to be or choose not to be happy with his or her blindness. I would offer a second syllogism. Premise a. Death is guaranteed to each individual. Premise b. Faith does not provide assurance that the individual will receive what he or she wanted or needed during life. Conclusion: Each individual should live well in order to die well. Hence, no matter the life, happiness is the better choice.

According to my greatest teacher: It is best for each of us to look at a sunset, and accept that moment for the beauty it is; detaching from the sensory induced emotional bonds to it, to anything in the world that has the potential to grip us deeply into desire, desire that is ultimately unquenchable at its worst.

I remember the day I stopped desiring to see. It was the 4th of July, 10 years ago, sitting on the top of a hill, staring up at a fireworks display. And I said to myself, I've seen this before. It's not important that I ever see it again. That was the shift in thinking I needed.

Partly due to that shift in thinking, I now consider myself free. I am free to be happy as a blind person who is happy to be blind. I enjoy listening and feeling the rain. I love to find solutions to travel situations. I love how I have become able to use my blindness in re-defining myself as an artist. I love how strong blindness makes me feel. I will never regret not being able to see for myself how beautiful my children are because they show me their beauty in so many other ways. I am exactly who I'm supposed to be and where I'm supposed to be.

So get in line, and pucker up baby!

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