Who am I, and What am I Doing?

Hello reader,

Welcome to my site!

It is my aim for Insight from the Shadows to provide a glimpse into my world as an individual who is blind. My life is often challenging, though not in many of the ways most people would think, and it is also quite normal, which a lot of people would probably find surprising. My wish is that you read my words with an open mind; remember that I am one person. I do not claim to speak for anyone else who is blind or who has a disability. My words are filtered through the lens of my own life and experience, and though many people with disabilities may relate to what I say, many others will not, and that’s okay.Fifteen percent of the world’s population has some form of disability after all, and no one can expect a group that size to unanimously agree on anything. Heck, the current six occupants of my house can’t agree on what’s for dinner, and four of them only eat kibble.

My name is Melissa. I’m a twenty-something year-old woman. I am a university student, a bibliophile, a lover of language, and a humble servant to two feline and two canine overlords. I am a friend, a sister, a daughter, a stranger, an acquaintance, a student, a teacher, a Canadian, a hockey fan, and much more. I enjoy reading, walking, listening to music, and hanging out with my friends. I play several instruments rather poorly, and have an eclectic taste in music.

I am also blind, and unfortunately, this is the one thing people tend to notice and fail to move beyond when they encounter me out in public. Yes being blind is an important part of who I am, it has definitely helped shape me, but it is not all of me. I am a normal complex being with a deep love of chocolate, speculative fiction books, crime shows, and animals. Yes my eyes don’t work properly, and yes much of the technology I own talks to me, but that’s just skimming the surface of who and what I am.

I hope that this blog allows you to peer beneath the veil of shadows in which I often feel shrouded, and provides you with some insight into my world, which is strangely different, but at the same time gloriously normal.