When I was eighteen, I couldn’t wait to get my first job, which meant I made the first step toward adulthood.
But it was difficult to get a work permit. One day I was dropped off by my parents at the clinic , where applicants took their physical tests for work permits. Although I had night blindness, my vision was clearer during the day, which helped me walk easily by myself. Then the doctor began the examination . He looked into my eyes with a bright light. “I suggest your parents take you to an eye specialist,” he said, “I suspect you have a retinal(视网膜) disease. If you do, you’ll never work a day in your life…”
My parents did take me to specialists. After much time and money spent seeking an accurate result, it was determined that I had an eye disease that slowly robs a person of sight. But still, during daylight, I could walk without assistance . I could read, but not for hours. My eyes began to tear and words slipped off the page when I read more than a few pages. However, no matter how tired my eyes became, I never gave up reading. I knew the names of great writers as well as the most popular music stars. Their words were powerful, which encouraged me to try writing. Soon writing brought me a lot of pleasure each time I completed a paper.
Then an important phone call from an editor changed my life. An article I penned appeared in a local newspaper. The newspaper, to my delight , continued to print my work. Next, a book series published several of my essays. I got interested in writing and lit up with each acceptance. On the pages, readers never knew of my blindness unless I chose to present it. For me, finding my voice through writing gave me the pride and satisfaction I sought so many years ago. Now, I have numerous essays and articles in print .
Should I be thanking that misguided doctor? By falsely predicting that I could never work a day, he fueled my motivation into success. He set the bar too low and focused on what I wouldn’t be able to do. Yet I proved what I could do.