Losing Can Also Be Gaining

suffered from a severe fever that left her blind and deaf. As a result, she couldn’t learn to speak either. Her condition seemed hopeless—her future appeared limited to living and dying in a home for the disabled. But Helen Keller did not lose her courage. She decided that even without eyes, she would “see,” and even without ears, she would “hear.” She aspired to become like those who were naturally gifted with sight and sound. When someone makes a firm decision, new paths begin to open. Helen found a brilliant teacher—Miss Sullivan. Helen began to learn the alphabet through touch. Even though she was deaf, she learned to speak. She would place her fingers on her teacher’s throat and lips to feel how words were formed, then attempt to repeat them with her own tongue. This unique form of learning took many years, but she finally succeeded. She used her fingers to “see” and “hear,” and she made them her tools to read and speak. After early education with Miss Sullivan, Helen joined the Perkins School for the Blind and graduated in 1904. She also learned to write. Despite her disabilities, she mastered three languages: English, French, and Spanish. She authored several books and gave lectures across the world to promote education for the blind. She received honorary degrees from universities such as Harvard, Glasgow, Berlin, and Delhi, along with many other international honours.