Helen Keller
Reflection of Her Life
“All
the world is full of suffering. It is also full of overcoming.”
Unfit.
Superfluous. Impoverished. These are the words that we can describe to disabled
people. Well, there are many things in this world that we do never like
–corruption, crimes, division of rich and poor, and some other to be mentioned.
But, I believe that there are two people who made a big difference –helping
others, overcoming circumstances, and giving back to the world. Here’s for me
to mention, Helen Keller, and her governess and friend Anne Sullivan. I look up
to them because they did astounding things to develop systems like
organizations for the deaf-blind. As Wikipedia labels Helen Keller, she is a
political activist, an author, and a lecturer. These are some of the titles
that were given to this deaf-blind woman. She was even the one who quoted the
inspirational quote that I have just mentioned at the start! But, may I ask
you, who is this woman? Who is Helen Keller, and also Anne Sullivan?
Born
on June 27, 1880, Helen Keller lived a venturesome life with satisfaction. At
the age of nineteen months, Helen Keller was made blind and deaf. She became
ill and had a high fever which left her visually impaired and deaf. She was in
great turmoil for a few years. She was in despair, having that flicker of
madness because of her disablities that resulted to being turbulent.
Blindness
and deafness aren’t causing a hindrance for her to learn about the world. Though
impaired, she had chipped in a big help to the women, to the blind ones, and to
the world. This all started when Anne Sullivan came to the house and
disciplined Helen. At first, Helen didn’t like that, but she eventually
learned! Anne Sullivan, 21 years old and a graduate of Perkins Institute for
the Blind in Boston, was a blind woman who was a rebellious pupil, too. To the
extent that she shared this common ground with Helen, she was perhaps the perfect
woman for the task!
Anne
began teaching her the manual alphabet, in the way of spelling individual
letters onto her hand for Helen to feel. She didn’t actually learn quickly of
how the words delineate nor do the words have connection to the things around
her. Not until when Helen and Anne had a walk to the well, Anne spelled
W-A-T-E-R onto Helen’s hand and pumped water onto it. At that moment, Helen
realized that the word referred to the liquid. For us who are blessed enough of
having all our senses, we know the connection of words and things in our early
age. Yet for Helen, it was somehow a completely-incredible disclosure. Then,
her curiosity set her to feel and know the names of the things around her,
keenness crossing her mind. And so I can say, Helen need Anne just as Anne grew
to need Helen.
Of
what she cited, “Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be
understood.” With that, I could understand that she had learned from her
experiences which are the so-called lessons in life which she had lived in
order for her to understand. Though her two senses were robbed, she did many
things most blind or deaf people couldn't do. She overcame new rules herself.
Being
a woman at her time, women didn’t yet have the right to vote and to express their
views freely. That was when she became a suffragette. Helen’s goal was finally
attained when women finally received the right to vote. She was indeed a
determined and strong woman with a stand! In addition, she was also a
politician, a supporter of Socialism, and someone who wanted birth control.
Well, unlike other citizens and people who are cons to birth control, Helen saw
the positive things that we could benefit and are correct about having birth
control. She believes that it is not about murdering children but saving
precious lives of individuals, having the right of when to have and not to have
offsprings.
If
you have a goal in life, you need to keep moving forward. As what Helen said, "When
one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the
closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us." It
means that, you need to find another way of reaching your dream and making
yourself happy IF something in your life that makes you happy is not meant for
you. There are countless opportunities out there waiting for you! Why not try
them? You might find the path that doesn’t only lead you to your dream but will
also give you merriment and rapture. Just like Helen, she attained her dream.
She found out that her destiny is for her to be happy. And for her to be happy
is for her to help others. Same as what she quoted, “We are never really happy
until we try to brighten the lives of others,” she really did brighten the
lives of others! In fact, she visited countries and started the organizations
to help the deaf-blind, somehow killing the poverty that had enshrouded the
undeveloped countries on the entire planet. Helen, with the euphoric support of
Anne Sullivan, had given hope to a million families and impaired people all
over the world. Therefore, Anne became not only a teacher to Helen, but a
friend and companion to her until she (Anne) died. Helen and Anne were
heaven-sent women who amazingly got through all the struggles and had
contributed a LOT to the world.
Who
says it is impossible for blind-deaf people to make a great change? Well, Helen
Keller did and I can say that it is not impossible. “Optimism is the faith that
leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” This is
correct, isn’t it? Hmmm, she could not have accomplished her goals without
determination, optimism, and love. If Helen didn’t love God and others, she
couldn’t have improved the lives of others, right? Hence, if she did, how much
more for us? In our own ways, how big or small they are, we can make a change.
We could be like Helen. Each of us are humans beings with a brain and a heart.We
were meant to take care of God’s creations, and that is for us to be stewards
of the community, without any hesitation. And oh, we should thank God of having
all our senses, complete and salubrious.We should place Helen Keller as our
mode, too. We may not have the same condition with her, yet we could look up to
her as a woman who had helped people. She has been a woman who used her
intelligence, compassionate heart, and willing hands to touch the lives of our
fellow brothers and sisters. She marked a good encroachment that the world
would never forget.
My
dear friends, wanna feel REAL happiness? Just remember, “The best and most
beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be
felt with the heart.” Yeah, you might find happiness by reaching your dreams
AND helping others. So, what are you waiting for? Make your first steps toward
success. Help others and you’ll find the happiness in you. Discover rapture by
sharing your love. Love for God, love for people, love for yourself. Yes, LOVE,
the most powerful thing in the world.
:D
