Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Being the change

Today made me happy. Today I made other people happy.

Within five minutes this morning two people said I had made them happy. The first was someone who I sent an email to saying thank you. She'd done something to help me so I wanted to thank her. She said that she had been having a really tough time lately and that my email had just made her morning.

The second was a very good friend who has helped me through some very difficult times. One of the things we used to do was listen to very cheesy CDs as we went on many a road trip. A couple of weeks ago I made her a CD with some songs on it that I thought she would appreciate. She sent me a text this morning saying that she was lstening to a CD and it had made her smile.

I like doing things for other people. I love christmas because I can buy lots of people presents and make them smile. I take a lot of time over presents, making sure that people love each and every one of them.

I think maybe that's why I enjoy working for a charity. I stood in the lounge at work the other day, watching the centre users chatting and laughing with each other. I was slightly overwhelmed at the thought that without the charity, without the work that I do, they wouldn't have that. It really made me happy.

Monday, March 09, 2009

Putting pen to page


I'm actually writing this blog entry on paper. With a pen. No where near a computer. Obviously, as you're reading this, I've since typed it up but there is something quite nice about being about to put pen to paper and let the thoughts flow.
I like writing because it is slower. With a typing speed of around 70 words per minute, my fingers can quite often work a lot faster than my brain My thoughts get flustered and muddled and the words start to jump about on the screen.
I forget what I have already typed as the words are spurned higher up on the screen to make space for the new ones. Constantly moving vowels and consonants forming words and sentences almost of their own accord; taking on a life of their own, separate from the author who created them.
I like writing. I like the flow of the words as letters merge into each other, something which doesn't happen in type. I like the curls of my handwriting, the 'l' and the 'g' and the 'w'. The flair which makes these words mine. The little marks and inflections which I can recognise as mine. They are my voice on the paper, my accent translated through the pen
The typed word can seem so cold and stark. So impersonal. Like a robotic voice - no colours, no emotions. Each letter identical every time, standing alone. No mistakes, no scribbles, no personality. Anonymous words on a flickering screen.
But without typing and computers, these words would just remain here on the page. Folded in my handbag for no one to see'; quietly forgotten with no eyes to see them, no voice to speak them. At least on the screen they are out there, in the big wide world, for people to absorb - should they want to.

Sunday, March 01, 2009

"Be the change you want to see in the world"


A few weeks ago I started a new job.
I am the new fundraising and publicity manager at Worcestershire Association for the Blind.
I love it.
It is a small county wide charity that provides support, information and empowerment to visually impaired and blind people across the county of Worcestershire. The office is also a drop in centre for people with visual impairments so every day I see the good that the charity is doing and the people that it is helping directly.
The other day I watched a group of about 15 blind people do country dancing in the hall, I've heard stories about them skydiving, running marathons and playing golf. The only thing different between me and these people is that my eyes work perfectly well.
In charity terms, visual impairments is not 'sexy'. Cancer is 'sexy', animals are 'sexy', third world needs are 'sexy'. But if you woke up tomorrow and could not see, how would you now what the weather was like to decide what to wear? How would you choose clothes that matched? How would you get toothpaste on the toothbrush? How would you know your toast was cooked, or that your teacup was full of boiling water?
It wasn't until I started work and started talking to people that I really ever thought about this and now it is something that I feel really passionate about. I want to change this charity, I want to use my skills to move the charity forward so that it can be the best it can be.
I have found a revitalised passion for my work now that I am in a new role. I have remembered that I am actually quite good at what I do. I look forward to going to work every day and find it hard to stop thinking about it when I get home at night.
I feel alive again.