A memorable day at the RNIB See Differently Awards 2019

I’m sat here writing this a few days after the RNIB See Differently Awards which took place at Glaziers Hall in London and what a day it was! I don’t quite know how to summarise it all.

 

I know that the word ‘inspirational’ is often used to describe disabled people without looking at the true meaning, but it really was a special day filled with inspiring stories and truly wonderful people.

 

There are plenty of memories to treasure, I obviously wanted to share them with you and document them on my blog.

 

The RNIB See Differently Awards 2019

The RNIB See Differently Awards celebrate people who go above and beyond within the sight loss community to help change the world for blind and partially sighted people.

The awards are new for 2019 so I felt very lucky to be part of it all.

 

On 9th October, I received an email to say that I was a national finalist in the Social Media Influencer of the Year category, I couldn’t quite believe it! I was listed alongside Elin and Chloe who were also national finalists in the Social Media Influencer category, it was an honour to be shortlisted alongside two of my friends that are also two brilliant visually impaired bloggers that share their experiences, tackle public attitudes and break down barriers for people living with sight loss.

 

Details of the ceremony were also given in the email, and I knew that I wanted to go.

I managed to get the day off work and my Dad did the same as he very kindly said that he would come with me.

We booked our train tickets well in advance and then it was just a matter of counting down to the awards ceremony.

 

A few days later, I was contacted by someone from the PR team at RNIB as they wanted to shine a spotlight on the awards and the national finalists.

A press release was sent to local media for each national finalist, the York Press very kindly published an article about my nomination.

 

The next few weeks seemed to fly buy, but Tuesday 26th November came around which was the day of the awards ceremony. I was very excited, and I couldn’t wait to be in London, surrounded by those who are all trying to make a difference for people with sight loss.

 

Once I was ready and out of the house, we made our way to the station only to find that our train had been delayed by over half an hour. I was really frustrated by this as we had planned everything perfectly so that we would arrive in plenty of time. However, that wasn’t going to be the case anymore.

Our train eventually pulled into the station and we got on and were finally on our way to London!

 

We arrived in London a couple of hours later, the hustle and bustle of the capital city evident as soon as we stepped onto the platform.

 

We caught the tube to London Bridge station and met a lovely member of RNIB staff outside the tube station who pointed us in the direction of the venue.

It was a short walk from the tube station, so it was a great location to host the event as it was very easy to get to.

 

Once we arrived at Glaziers Hall, we were met by some RNIB staff who gave both me and my Dad a lanyard to wear. I then had a quick briefing on what would happen during the ceremony and was given all of the important information that I needed to know if I happened to be a winner. We then made our way upstairs to the drinks reception.

 

Once we were inside, we were handed a glass of Prosecco and mingled amongst the crowd of people who were all chatting. We missed quite a bit of the drinks reception due to our delayed train, but we managed to make some of it which was great.

We met up with Elin and her Mum and had a nice chat. I then met Chloe and Amy, I had met Chloe once before back in 2018 but it was lovely to see her again and meet Amy as well. These amazing ladies all inspire me to share my experiences of living with a vision impairment, tackle the misconceptions and strive for change, they always support me both online and offline.

Before the event, we had all said that we wanted to get a photo so that’s exactly what we did.

A few camera clicks later, it was time for us to head downstairs for our three-course meal and of course the main event itself, the awards ceremony.

 

We were shown to our table by a member of staff. My Dad noticed some goody bags that were on our chairs which included an Amazon Echo Dot, a sunflower lanyard along with some other things.

We were joined on our table by members of staff from RNIB, people from the companies that were the sponsors as well as someone from Channel 4.

We all introduced ourselves and got chatting, everyone on our table was lovely and very friendly.

We all enjoyed a three-course meal and there was then an announcement that the ceremony was going to start in 5 minutes…excitement and nerves kicked in as it was just a matter of minutes until the winners were announced.

 

Channel 4 presenter Laura Hamilton was the host for the awards ceremony, she greeted everyone and said that it was a pleasure to be hosting the ceremony. Laura did a fantastic job, she was a brilliant host. Matt Stringer, RNIB CEO then said a few words about the awards, he also read out a nomination which highlighted the celebration and was a brilliant example of the people that go above and beyond to help others with sight loss. The nomination made me feel rather emotional as it showed how incredible people within the sight loss community really are. He also spoke about RNIB’s work, there was then a film to highlight the work of the charity.

The awards celebrate all things vision impairment and I felt very proud to be part of the celebration.

 

It was then time for the award winners to be announced…

 

BEING NAMED AS SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER OF THE YEAR

The award for Social Media Influencer of the Year was the third award to be announced, it was presented by the host Laura Hamilton, alongside Luke Hoare from Amazon who were the sponsors of the award category.

My heart was racing as the names of the national finalists were called out and the video about mine, Elin and Chloe’s work were shown on the big screen, I had butterflies.

 

The winner was then announced…

 

I was the winner!!!!

 

I nearly burst into happy tears; I couldn’t believe that I had just won the award for Social Media Influencer of the Year.

A video was then played about the work that I do with a comment from one of the judges, Arlene Phillips who said that my work was ‘inspiring’.

I was in complete shock and it all felt a bit of a blur as I didn’t expect to win at all.

 

I was guided on stage by one of the members of staff from RNIB, I was then given my award and asked if I would like to do a speech which I said yes and was guided to the microphone. I took a moment to take it all in because I couldn’t quite believe that I was stood on that stage.

I honestly didn’t expect to win so I hadn’t actually prepared a speech, I just spoke from the heart. I couldn’t tell you what I said because it felt very surreal, I know that I spoke about how social media can be seen as something negative but it actually has many positives, how incredible the online vision impairment community is, and what an honour it was to have won the first ever Social Media Influencer of the Year Award.

I then posed for a photo with Laura and Luke before being guided off the stage.

Photo credit: RNIB

I couldn’t believe what had just happened…

 

At the side of the stage was one of the lovely ladies from RNIB’s PR Team who I have been in contact with quite a lot about various campaigns and articles that I’ve been lucky enough to get involved in with RNIB, she congratulated me and we then made our way upstairs where I had photos taken, did a quick radio interview and a video for RNIB’s social media, and also met a couple of other people that I have been in contact with from RNIB over the years. It was really nice to meet them all in person.

 

Once that was all done, we made our way back downstairs to enjoy the rest of the awards ceremony, picking up a winner’s bag filled with goodies that included an Amazon Echo show on the way.

I was guided back to my table, the other people congratulating me as I sat down in my seat. The people on our table eagerly wanted to look at my award.

The award trophy had braille on it as well as print which was definitely a bonus for me.

 

I then enjoyed the rest of the ceremony, and also tried to take in the fact that I had just won one of the prestigious awards, it was definitely a pinch myself moment. I thoroughly enjoyed finding out about the other winners and celebrating with everyone.

 

There were also some special guests including EastEnders Actress Louisa Lytton, blind Comedian Georgie Morrell and the Chair of RNIB, Ellie Southwood.

 

If you’re interested in finding out who won the rest of the awards, then you can find out who the winners were and read all about them on the RNIB website.

 

The ceremony flew by and before we knew it, it was drawing to a close.

The winners were asked to stay behind for photographs to be taken which we did. I was congratulated by some of the attendees and then headed upstairs for photographs to be taken.

It was a great chance to meet some of the other fantastic winners who all do amazing work, and we all congratulated each other.

Photo credit: RNIB

 

We chatted for a while and then me and my Dad made our way downstairs to get our stuff to get ready to leave.

 

I then met Amit, I’ve been following him on Twitter for a while now and really admire the work he does for the sight loss community, he’s a true example of someone that goes above and beyond to raise awareness of vision impairment and tackle public attitudes.

It was great to chat to Amit and meet his family, as well as his lovely guide dog Kika.

We then got chatting to a representative from Amazon who congratulated me on my award.

 

Before we knew it, it was time for us to say goodbye to everyone and we then got the train home.

 

I feel privileged to have won an award alongside some truly amazing people who work hard within the sight loss community. The awards really highlight how much of an impact people can have in raising awareness, changing perceptions and striving for change.

I felt extremely lucky to be surrounded by such empowering individuals who are all trying to make a difference.

 

I can’t quite believe that writing my blog and sharing my experiences of living with a vision impairment, educating others and tackling misconceptions both on my blog and social media has led to something so incredible and that I have won an award for it. When I started blogging I didn’t even think anyone would ever read my posts, I had no idea where it would go and how many people it would reach, I never even imagined that I would win an award.

Throughout the day people told me that my blog has helped them in some way, to hear that in person is a feeling I can’t quite describe.

 

Thank you to everyone that supports me, whether you’re a regular reader or have only just discovered my blog, thank you from the bottom of my heart, without your support none of this would have been possible.

 

I hope to use this recognition in a positive way and try to create change and help others in any way I can.

 

There was a time when I didn’t talk about my disability on social media at all, I was a quiet, not very confident person but this is testament to how far I’ve come in terms of self-confidence and acceptance.

If I didn’t have a vision impairment then I wouldn’t have started my blog, I wouldn’t have a platform to share my knowledge and experiences, and none of this would have happened. I always talk about the positives of having a disability, but this is a real example of one of the many positives of having a vision impairment.

 

I have to admit, I’ve felt all the emotions over the last few days, it is a surreal feeling to have won an award for doing something that I love and something that I’m so passionate about.

To be named as Social Media Influencer of the Year is a feeling that I can’t quite put into words, it is an honour to be recognised in this way.

I honestly don’t see myself as inspiring or influential at all because living with a vision impairment is all I’ve ever known, it’s my normal. But the fact that people see me as someone that is making a real difference and helping others living with sight loss is truly humbling.

 

Having a vision impairment comes with its challenges but I don’t let them hold me back. I try to pass my knowledge and experiences onto others and try to help break down the barriers that blind and partially sighted people face.

Society often focuses on the negative aspects of having a vision impairment but take it from someone that has never been able to see, it is wonderful, and I couldn’t imagine my life any other way.

 

The awards celebrate sight loss in a positive light which is something that is often overlooked, they celebrate the people who are making a difference and I am beyond proud to be recognised as one of those people.

 

My Dad said that he really enjoyed the afternoon and the event was very well organised. He thought that the RNIB staff made you feel welcome and they were very friendly. He thought it was a really nice venue as well.

My Mum said that she wishes she was able to have attended the event with us but she was unable to which was really unfortunate. It would have made it even more special if we could have been there together as a family.

 

Thank you so much to the RNIB for putting on such a memorable awards ceremony, and for allowing me and my Dad to be a small part of it. It was such an empowering day and a perfect way of celebrating sight loss.

Thank you to the judges for choosing me as the winner for the Social Media Influencer of the Year award, it truly means the world to me. Winning this award is definitely one of my proudest achievements.

 

Huge congratulations to all of the winners, the national finalists and the RNIB staff that organised the awards ceremony.

The memories from the RNIB See Differently Awards will stay with me forever.

 

To be recognised as Social Media Influencer of the Year fills me with so much pride! I hope I continue to do it justice.

 

Let’s celebrate sight loss and those who are striving for a world where there are no barriers for blind and partially sighted people.

 

Holly x