“I was born premature.  They gave me oxygen in order to survive and it damaged my optic nerves.  I’ve been blind all my life but I just try not to let it slow me down.

I was adopted when I was three years old.  When I went to my mom’s and my dad’s, I knew how to do nothing.  I drank out of a bottle.  I’s still in diapers.  My mom taught me everything.  Learning how to cook, uh, unfortunately my mom was afraid I would get burned.  She didn’t teach me how to cook, but she taught me everything else.  She had to have the patience of Job, and I appreciate that so much.  And um, there’s plenty of times I wanted to give up, and my momma wouldn’t let me.  She would not let me just give up.  If I were to give up today, man she’d be turnin‘ over in her grave and coming back to haunt me.

You know, when I hear somebody say, well I can’t do it cause I can’t see, first of all I don’t get angry, but it makes me disappointed.  Because they, um you know, they might not be aware that they can learn to do things.  You learn many different ways, just like I did raising my two boys.  So when I hear somebody say, well I can’t do it cause I’m blind, I try to encourage them, yes you can.  There are ways to learn and there are support systems that will help you.  In fact I used to work for a place that, um had that kind of support.  So I know it’s out there.

I think one of the greatest, well besides my two children being born and seeing them, I think my greatest thing was, uh, I played the clarinet in the school orchestra.  My senior year I got the highest award that anyone could get.  Technically, you had to be able to read music, which I don’t, I play it by ear.  But, I still got the highest honor and I got an A plus, which the teacher never give anybody else.  So that really, really made me feel good.

And um, I think that, I’m blessed everyday, just being able to wake up, get up and do things, even if its just sitting there reading, or you know just chillin’.”