Helen Keller: Reflection of Her Life

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