Discriminations that are, currently, ongoing, in this world right now! Off of the Front Page Sections, translated…
The Twenty-Six Year-Old Severely Visually Impaired Man, Lu Lost His Sight from a Rare Optic Nerve Condition, Lost His Sight Relatively Quickly; as He’d Graduated from University, He’d Wanted to Become a School Instructor, But the Qualifications are Even Tougher for the Visually Impaired, and, after Many Failed Attempts, This Year, He’d, Finally Passed the Certification Exams. But, Being Visually Impaired, with a Guide Dog, Finding a Home to Rent, Lu and His Dog Were Seen as a “Pair of Troubles”, He’d Worried, if He will Find a Rental Home Before School Starts.
Lu was a double-major in special education and counseling, wanted to become a school counselor, he said, as he was interning, and working as a surrogate instructor, he’d felt, conflicted, later, two things helped him untie the knots inside. A middle school dropout who had been bullied, and was facing troubles at home, was originally, strictly against, going into the counselor’s office to get counseled, one day, the student told him, “let’s play hide-and-seek”, so he’d, had his guide dog walk him all over the school, looking for the student, and every time, Lu and the guide dog had, found the student. The student was in disbelief, “aren’t you blind, teacher? How can you still, find me?”, and, later on, this student helped paint the desk and table for the school’s anniversary celebrations.
Another student with nyctalopia, heard the doctor’s prognosis, that over a decade later, he may become, completely, blind, he’d come to Lu with his heart of fear, wanted to know what life will be like for him in the future. He took the student to a baseball game with the visually impaired players, to help him reduce the fears that the student had toward blindness, and helped him understand, there are, a lot he can, still do.
Lu said, because of his blindness, it’d made it so hard for him to become an educator, several times, he’d thought in his own despair, how long he can, keep on going down this road? As he was, battling the decision of working as a school instructor, the students, “you must persist, you are, way better, than a lot of my teachers!”, was what made him, keep going.
photo from UDN.com
Although he can only see what’s twenty-centimeters right in front of him, and not clearly either, he was brave in trying things out in life, turned the handicap into, his, advantage. He’d also, challenged his own limits in the darkness, learned to surf, worked as a drummer in the dragon boat races, swam across the Sun-Moon Lagoon, becoming the very first visually impaired marathoner in the Boston Marathon in the U.S.
Lu had taken over thirty teachers’ certification exams, eight of these times, he was, called back, and, there were, more times that he was, cut because of his visual impairments. As he found he passed the certification of becoming a school counselor at the Fuke Middle School in Taichung, he became ecstatic he’d cried and screamed on his bed, finally, the days of his working as a tramping instructor came to an end.
He is going to report to the school soon, but, he was, faced with the problem of finding his own rental home. His mother, Tsai told, that he’d been turned down thirty times before he received a yes in trying to rent a place, a blind person, plus a guide dog, was seen, as a “troublemaker pair” by the landlords. Lu said, the guide dogs are the eyes of the visually impaired, that they’re, “tools”, he can manage his own life well enough, and, he wouldn’t, leave the gas stove on and forget to turn it off, along with other possible dangerous situations. Hoped that the society can see the hard work the visually impaired is putting in, to make their lives, count.
So, this, is how difficult it is, to be handicapped, and living in tis world, you are, discriminated against, and, like this man, he was seen as a troublemaker, with his guide dog, and, he’d worked hard, to become, a school counselor, he’d, beaten the majority of his own odds, overcome the biggest difficulty in his life, discrimination and being visually, impaired, he’s now, living his dreams, of making a difference in the lives of students now.
Life, the Obstacle Course 