My time is coming to a close...T minus 3 1/2 days till I graduate

So my time here is coming to an end. I am not exactly sure how I feel about this yet. I know I have big dreams/goals for myself and I know they will keep me busy but I am going to miss going to Bosma Monday thru Friday. My hope is to be able to volunteer at Bosma at least one day a week if not more. I am also hoping that everything goes smoothly and I can start school in August. I know what I want to do with my life. I want to obtain a Bachelors degree in Social Work and my Masters in Vision Rehab and become a CVRT (Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapist). I have been so blessed to have been able to attend this program. I came here with a hunger to learn and I did. I have learned so much that has opened my life back up to me. I can now read Braille, freshened up on my typing skills,cook safely, thread a needle and sew on a button, correctly use my cane as well as getting myself around, navigate a computer using only the keyboard, and have learned new ways/coping skills to get through harder times, I have also weaved a basket, built a spice rack, did clay work, learned how to take apart a faucet and so much more. I am ready to do my part and pay it forward....

Time time here is coming to an end...two weeks and counting

Monday I will have 10 days left here at Bosma. It is bittersweet and nerve wracking all at the same time. I have learned so much since being here

Anxiety and excitement all wrapped up in one package....

So it's official. I graduate Bosma on May 31st. I am all in one anxious yet excited. Anxious becuase the routine I have had the past almost 4 months is about to change and excited because I am so ready for this next chapter of my life to begin. I will have my family meal (this is where I along with my PM instructor plan a meal that I will choose, go grocery shopping for, prepare and serve to my family) on the 15th then just a few short weeks later my program will be complete. The anxiety of this thought can be so overwhelming at times. And then in the next moment I get excited. We have found a place that we will be able to call home here in Indy at the end of the month, I have applied to Ivy Tech, summited my FAFSA, and I have made a new friend (T)! Things are falling into place and for once I feel like I can breathe. Really breathe. God has provided me with so many oppurtunities and blessing this year that I am just in awe of his awesomeness. Someting has clicked in my mind. I will be ok, I am going to be okay. One day at a time but I will be ok. I have learned to handle my stress and anxiety to the best of my ability and I have such a great support system. I am waiting for that moment where the excitement will overshadow the anxiety of change. I know what I want to do with my life now. Anything is possible! I am ready to conquer. I will conquer!

Time for some huge changes....

Wow. Just wow. That's all I keep saying to myself. So much in my life is changing. Richie and I are permanently relocating (we are in the process of finding a place), I am about to graduate from the Bosma Rehab for the Blind program on the 24th of this month, I think this morning I may have found a church, I have officially submitted my application to Ivy Tech and my FAFSA is complete, and I am going to be applying to be a volunteer at Bosma. I keep telling myself, breath Dawnetta, everything is going to be fine. I am suddenly feeling very overwhelmed with the things that are and will be happening in my life. I am ready to make something of myself and make my parents proud, and while I'm at it overcome some of my fears. I have never felt like I was special at anything. I was an ok drummer, an ok cook, an ok softball player. I want to excell, really excell at someting. And my hope is, that this time around I will excell in school and become a Vision Rehabilitation Therapist. I want to help people. I want to help them to get back to their lives or in some peoples cases get their lives started. Show them that blindness does not control you. You can overcome the obsticles that blindness can cause. That is my dream. I know this dream will take time and lots of hard work. My sister Casondra just sent me a text and said "You've got this!". She right. Now I just have to keep up my belief in myself. Breath through the stressful times and appreciate the easy times. I thank God everyday for the oppurtunities he has and is giving me. I have overcome a lot in the past 3 years, and I believe this is just the beginning of my journey. My story is just beginning...... *D*

Living in the Dark

I am really starting to love myself and my world as I now know it. I might have to use my hands and search around for things more now, bump into things, and ask for help but that is fine. I am happy. For the first time in days I can say I AM HAPPY. I am about to go help a fellow classmate make some chocolate chip cookies from scratch and this warms my heart. It might take us longer to accomplish this task but you know what, our vision impairments will not hinder us. We will conquer and these cookies will be great. Being blind does not mean we can not do for ourselves. We can, just in a different way and in a different time frame. Love yourself, slow down, and enjoy life. My world might be dark but I will live my life to the fullest and be happy doing so.