10-Year Challenge

The 10-year challenge is the latest social media craze, and in honor of this particular challenge, I have decided to reflect on where I was 10 years ago.

Moving across the world

At this very time of year, 10 years ago, I embarked on an adventure that literally changed my entire life. I moved to Cape Town, South Africa for four months. While there I completed an internship at Cape Town Association for the Physically Disabled.

I still cannot believe I did this! It feels surreal even just typing it. In order to get there, I caught three different planes by myself: Arizona to California, California to Dubia (I had a 16-hour layover in Dubai), and then went from Dubai to Cape Town. I was in the air for literally 24 hours total and I touched down in Cape Town on January 5, 2012. Being on a flight for so long, meant that I had a lot of time to pass—so naturally, I watched several movies.

One movie that stood out to me the most was We Bought a Zoo. During one scene in the movie, a character said: “all it takes is three seconds of insane courage”. That quote truly stuck out to me and was instrumental during my time in Cape Town.

Study abroad

Before we go forward, let’s back up and talk about how I even got to the point of living and interning in Cape Town. During my undergrad career, I heard so many cool stories about peoples’ experiences studying abroad and I knew that I too wanted to travel abroad. In my junior year of college I learned about an organization called Projects Abroad and its many projects in various countries across Africa. I then narrowed it down to which counties could accommodate my university requirement for a supervisor with a Master’s in Social Work. In the end, Cape Town checked all the boxes on requirements. From there, I spent the summer of my junior year applying and going through the paperwork process. Six months later l boarded the first plane and began the journey to Cape Town.

Reflecting on my experience

Recently I was talking to my mom about her feeling surrounding my travel abroad experience. I asked her, “what were you thinking allowing your daughter, who is legally blind, to live on another continent for four months?!”

She simply responded with, “well you seemed happy and confident! I just wanted you to live out your dream!”

Making adjustments

During my time in Cape Town, there were days when my Stargardt diagnosis was on the forefront of my mind and there were other days when it became secondary. There were moments when I did not have time to think about my inability but rather had to adapt to the situation. Just like Yoda said, “Do or do not. There is no try”.

I vividly remember arriving in Cape Town and having to find an internet café so that I could contact my family and let them know that I had made it safely. I had no idea where I was going and ultimately decided to hone my people skills. Luckily, my people skills and amicable personality were instrumental in helping me navigate.

Leaning into the skills we have

As a person with a disability it is easy to identify all the things you cannot do because of your diagnosis. However, I strongly encourage people living with a disability to lean into the skills they do have… at least that's the way "eye see it".