Finding the right path

Our path in life is often filled with twists, turns and bumps along the way; mine certainly hasn’t been smooth, that’s for sure. If someone would have told me a few years ago that my path would lead to the destination I’ve been searching for, I probably wouldn’t have believed them. But here we are.

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind; I started a new job within the charity sector, something that I have been working towards for the last few years. Doubt niggled away in the back of my mind for a long time, because I never thought I’d get there. I trundled along, trying to find the end goal.

You may be thinking ‘oh that’s cool’. However, regular readers will know that I document many of my experiences  on here, so I felt like it was only right to mark this monumental moment on my blog. I also think it’s something much bigger.

We’ve all felt pressure to achieve something, or we may have even felt compelled to go down a certain route in life. When you find the right path, it’s quite the feeling. Who knows, you might even be able to relate to what I’m about to say with the twists and turns that have cropped up on your own path.

 

Finding the right path

We may feel confused or conflicted about the path we want our life to go down, not sure which direction to take.

My disability work is a huge part of my life, both online and offline. My desire to raise awareness, provide information to educate and inform, and my passion for helping others has led me to a number of opportunities over the years. I can never quite sum up the impact it has had on my life in both a personal and professional capacity. One of the most notable aspects being that it has helped me to determine my career path.

I never could have imagined that my disability would have such an impact on my future, let alone influencing my career choices.

 

The seed was planted and started to grow when I found myself doing a lot of work within the charity sector when I was a teenager. It blossomed when I started my blog and found myself being a voice within the disabled community. Writing has always been a form of escapism for me, it’s a way of expressing my feelings and emotions, but it’s also much more than that. It has been the steppingstone which has helped me get to where I am today.

It has also forced me to take stock on many aspects of my vision impairment which has encouraged me to curate them into blog posts. As my blog has grown, I’ve come to realise that it’s a lot more than just a collection of pieces of writing.

My little corner of the internet helped me find my true passions. Most importantly for me, it reaffirmed many of the thoughts that I was having about the direction my life was heading.

My future plans haven’t always looked like that though.

 

When I was a teenager, the path I’d mapped out for myself was very different to how it is today. I’d set my sights on a career within the world of music. That was the road I wanted to go down in some capacity. I’d played the flute for years, so it only felt natural to focus on something that I enjoyed.

Further down the line my passions shifted, and my future looked very different.

I first started volunteering within the charity sector when I was a teenager. The more voluntary opportunities I took on, the more I realised that music wasn’t the career path for me.

Volunteering has always given me a sense of pride. It makes me feel empowered knowing that I’m helping my community.

As the rest of my peers were figuring out their own future goals and aspirations, I was often told that I couldn’t do something because I was disabled. People would question my life choices because of my vision impairment, casting shadows of doubt in my mind. I didn’t know which way to go, did I listen to the music, or make a U-turn and follow my heart?

Thankfully, everything became much clearer.

The indications that I had for my future all led back to my vision impairment, and I have to thank it for that.

 

There have been moments of doubt and uncertainty, but I’ve always tried to approach them with a determined attitude. And I guess that’s paid off.

That determined attitude helped me to find my place within the disabled community by creating my blog, as well as using my online platforms to share my experiences and advocate for myself and my community. When I’m in my little bubble of writing a blog post or focused on advocating, I feel a sense of purpose and belonging. I don’t feel that way doing anything else.

Little shy me would never have believed that these things would weave their way into my future, creating the end product.

 

So, when I graduated university, it was time for me to take the next step on the career ladder. Once again, I knew that I wanted to work within the world of disability in some form. Thankfully, I managed to secure a job within 6 months of finishing my degree – something that I know is very difficult, even more so for disabled people.

When the role for an Assistive Technology Advisor at the university I’d just graduated from became available, it seemed like a great fit. I’d be supporting disabled students and striving for an accessible university experience for everyone.

It was a role that I thoroughly enjoyed, I have so many fond memories attached to the three and a half years in that position.

Whilst working as an Assistive Technology Advisor my blog and freelance work was something that I dedicated most of my spare time to. It has gone from strength to strength over the last few years and I feel incredibly proud of that. Whenever I found myself being involved in campaigns, writing articles or having those important discussions about vision impairment and disability, my mind was filled with thoughts of how natural it felt. I kept thinking “this is what I want to be doing”.

There were occasions when the two lines of work crossed, those were the moments I enjoyed the most. I knew that I had to take the next step. The charity sector was the place I knew I wanted to be.

It’s something that I’ve secretly been working towards for a while now, and I’ve finally taken the leap. It certainly didn’t happen overnight; I’ve spent the last few years working towards achieving that goal.

Working within communications within the charity sector was the area I knew that I could see myself working in, a rather niche area I know. So that’s what I set my sights on. However, I never thought that those goals and ambitions would become my reality. Somehow, they did.

 

Change is inevitably daunting, but it’s also exciting. Starting my new job as a Social Media Officer within the charity sector was certainly a mixture of excitement and nerves. It is a feeling of pure happiness. The fact that I’m now doing a role within an area that I thought I only could have ever dreamt of for a charity that’s very close to my heart still feels surreal. I don’t think the feeling has quite sunk in yet.

I can honestly say that I feel like the best version of myself, and I can wholeheartedly tell you that I have found the destination I have been searching for.

I’ve found my purpose; it feels amazing to have something that constantly fuels my passions and makes me feel good.

Somehow, those twists, turns and bumps in the road evened out and I found the right path.

I feel like all my passions have collided, creating something wonderful.

The best part is that I get to support my community and use social media for the greater good.

 

I sometimes find myself thinking about what my life would be like if things were different, would I be heading down a similar path, or would it have led me in another direction? Who knows.

None of that matters because my vision impairment has given me something magical.

 

I was hesitant to publish this post because I didn’t want it to seem like I was bragging or showing off, I’d hate for people to see it in such a way. I shared it because as disabled people, we are often told that we won’t achieve the goals that we’ve set our hearts on. I clicked publish because I want people to know that we can in fact get to where we want to be. It might be harder at times, but we have the fight and determination to keep pushing on.

We may feel lost or unsure about what life has in store for us, and those feelings are only natural. I want to encourage disabled people to strive to achieve their goals, no matter how big or small they are.

 

If you take anything away from this post, I want you to remember this: you don’t have to have your life mapped out. It’s okay if you don’t find yourself following the path you once thought you would, because the one you’re on may even lead to somewhere bigger, better and brighter.

I can’t explain how happy I am that I didn’t follow a conventional path, and how glad I am that I didn’t listen to those that told me I couldn’t do something because of my vision impairment. I’ve found my path, and I won’t be turning back any time soon.

 

Has a particular moment or aspect of your life marked out your journey? Let me know!

We’re all on our own path in life, yet I think something unplanned or unexpected can sometimes throw us off it in one way or another, leading us in a direction we never could have imagined.

 

Holly x