Good morning, I’m Zara! I was born completely blind and have never seen a thing. I was born with anopthalmia which means my eyes never developed and I wear prosthetics in my eye sockets. My family is from Iran and I live in the U.K.. my favourite hobbies include goal ball and walking around nature and I’m at university studying ecology
I’m completely blind AMA
r/AMA
Comments
What are your dreams like?
(Curious since visual imagery makes up such a hug portion my dreams as a sighted person!)
If you’re family is from Iran and you live in the UK, do you mean that you’ve moved away from your family? If so, how did you find the move, what new challenges did it bring.
Whether or not you’ve moved out, do you rely on people for support with any specific tasks? What aids do you use for daily life?
I always wonder, do you have any ideas of what you look like? Do you wear makeup and how to apply it?
hi zara! I’ve always wanted to know how imagination and memory work for a blind person from birth, since I don’t think you can spatially imagine an object in your mind, at least not in the same way a sighted person does.
Sorry if it’s a wierd question, but how do you manage your menstrual cycle (if applicable)?
Do you prefer baths or showers?
So is it the same as your knee or arm and not being able to see? Or is it complete darkness that you are aware of? If that makes sense
How do you respond on here,?
What is your favorite food and do you have an image of it?
Do you feel anything when someone is staring at you?
If you’re completely blind, then how are you able to see this? By which I mean, how are you able to write and read?
Are you able to grasp the concept of colours?What is the best explanation for colours that you have heard?
Do you have a guide dog?
How do you decide what outfit to wear each day- does a family member help you or are hangers for your clothes coded in some way, like a Braille label, so you know what is on the hangar or in a certain drawer?
What are some hobbies you enjoy? My father became blind in his 70s due to glaucoma and macular degeneration. He can’t do any of the things he once loved, as they all literally rely on visuals. I know people who are blind have very, very fulfilling lives of course, but it’s been so hard for my dad to adapt to this new life. It breaks my heart.
How are you answering these questions if you’re blind?
What annoys you the most about people and how they act towards you?
Can you feel if you’re stared at? (I get stared at a lot due to wheelchair and I hate it.)
What can we do to help you in daily life?
Hi Zara! Can you conceptualize what typing on a screen is and how we are communicating with you? What do you ‘see’ if someone explains it to you?
Even without a frame of reference are you able to conceptualize a movie or book to help you stay engaged or does it need to have very specific visual imagery and exposition? Also how does it feel to be blind, it’s probably easier to adapt and come to terms with being blind since you were born without sight but does it feel different or something more intrinsic having to rely on other senses or having a unconventional sense of sight through other outlets, other then your eyes, that was suited to your situation. Thank you for your responses 🙂
Do you get tired of the jokes when sharing your situation online? I imagine you get similar comments to me when sharing. I have vision loss myself, I probably won’t go totally blind, but I already can’t see in the dark and I’m missing the edges of my vision lol.
When I try to talk about it online, I’ve gotten so many reactions, the majority being jokes about “how am I online??” or accusing me of lying. It’s honestly so frustrating that I don’t bring it up until I’m actually friends with whoever I’m chatting with, if it gets to that point.
Hey Zara!
I’m curious if you have a dating life and what that is like for you.
Do you feel like your blindness makes you hyper vigilant at all?
Would you say being blind makes you more grounded/in the moment? For example some people might get overstimulated with too many sounds, visuals, sensations.
What sensations are most grounding for you? (For example, a breeze on your face, sitting in grass, tasting food, taking a shower)
Big respect for you to open the door for questions. 😊
Have you heard about the echolocation technique that blind people use for navigating? I came across a video about it on YouTube, where this person is teaching others how to navigate their surroundings using echolocation. What are your thoughts on it?
YouTube clip
A stupid question that I’ve always asked myself. Is inclusive writing boring for you on the internet? Or is it still largely understandable?
can you imagine what the concept of vision is like?
Do you remember how you found out you were blind? It’s very hard to imagine being told you’re missing a sense which is so important to most of us yet you have no reference for it
Also, how do you choose clothes/hairstyles? Do you have a friend tell you what’s currently in fashion/what suits you or do you go for comfort?
thank you for sharing your story zara! this is such an interesting AMA :)) what exactly do you “see”? i understand blindness has different levels and some blind people can see spots/dashes of colour etc. may i ask what it is you can decipher in front of you?
Hi Zara! I have several questions.
I have two blind cousins and a lot of people on that side of the family have some visual impairment. Do you have other blind people in your family as well?
Did you go to a mainstream school, school for the blind, homeschool, or some combo?
Do you cook or bake? If so, what’s your favorite thing to make?
Do you have a job? If so, what do you do for work?
Hi! Sound guy here !
How detailed is your echo location? Can you tell what angle walls are at or how far away they are? Or when people are near you? Tell me everything about that!
Hello Zara,
How do you judge someone’s beauty? What is it that makes you feel attracted to a person? And if that attraction isn’t based on physical criteria, does that automatically mean you’re bisexual?
Do you get a reduction in your TV License? Sorry if that’s silly, was the first thing that came to my mind.
Would you like to visit north of Pakistan? You will be delighted with the wonders of nature that this north represents. Like various plants and their fragrances, flowers and cool and silent weathers. Some fresh sunlight to be enjoyed while people who are hospitable and friendly. If you visit here, you must visit north specifically for the sake of self and nature.
This one is going to be a brain scratcher… But how do you see yourself in your mind? Or anything for that matter. What do you see when you imagine things? When you have frequent interactions with someone do you imagine them a certain way? I’ve always wondered these things.
Is it true that blind people are white, not black or darkness? I got an excessive amount of chlorine in my eyes once and when my sight started to temporarily go, I saw white, but black or darkness
Hi Zara! This is going to be weirdly specific but do you save money on electricity bills? Just because I imagine you don’t need lamps or lighting at all.
Hi there! I suppose we’ll see you in r/blind. I am also legally blind, but not completely so. I went to college with lots of totally blind people, including a black belt in tae kwon do. (I had a black belt in gojo ryu, myself.) We even did a martial arts demonstration for the kids at the blind school in that town. It was a lot of fun. Then we hosted weekly self defense for the college. Good memories.
My question to you is: What is your super-power? The thing that no one would ever suspect a blind person would be able to do?
Do you think being a second generation Iranian immigrant affects your experience as a blind person? Are there some things that you and your family do to accommodate being blind that differ from the experiences of other blind people in the UK? I know Muslim folks usually don’t have pet dogs, does this factor into deciding whether or not to have a guide dog? Thank you in advance for sharing, it’s really interesting to hear about your life
Can you tell when someone is staring at you?
Hi Zara,
Do you think we (in the UK) should do more to help blind people, if so what?
Hope you’re doing well!
How are you able to type this
Do you wish that you had vision?
I always heard that most people that are blind have some vision issues that true? Also how has your hearing gotten? Do you appreciate music more? Sorry that was two many questions
It’s Interesting, like the best explanation for blind people to comprehend the concept of visuals is like imagining a new color. Which is impossible, because there are a certain spectrum of colors.
Also just curious are you a Muslim? And are you religious? And if so, how difficult is it for you to pray?
May Allah make it easy for you.
Hadith on Blindness: Paradise for patience with losing eyesight:
>Anas ibn Malik reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Allah says: If I take the two noble eyes of My servant in this world, there is no reward for him with Me but Paradise.”
Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2400
Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Albani
Read your comment on how you remember places using touch and smell, such a beautiful way to remember a place.
When you to a new place like a trip somewhere, how do you remember that place – Could you describe that place using an example. would love to understand how that looks in your mind.
Tell us about the happiest day of your life.
If you touch someone’s face for the first time can you immediately recognize them the next time you meet them?
I have a question: how accurate do you think your mental image of the real world is? If you suddenly gained vision, how alien and different would things look compared to how you thought? Do you think some ordinary things you previously liked would gross you out? Thanks
Do you have a job ? How do you spend your day ?
How do you know when cleaning up after a bowel movement. That you are clean?
I’ve always wondered this, and honest serious question, although today there are bidets so perhaps it doesn’t apply, but how do you know when to stop wiping after going to the washroom?
Which would be more difficult in Iran, being blind or being queer?
Have you thought about a career in ecology after you have finished studying? I have been an ecologist (specialising in bats) for over 15 years in the UK and it is a great field to work in. Is there anything ecology related you are leaning towards?
How do you “see” nature when you go on walks? What do you notice that sighted people often miss?
What’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever experienced in nature, using your other senses?
What’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever experienced in nature, using your other senses?
If no one told you that you were blind, do you think you would know?
This is meant to be philosophical not practical.
Second blind Muslim lady who wears a burka studying ecology in the last week doing an AMA. Who’d have thought.
I am too late, but in case you feel like answering more..
What are some of your favourite (top 3 or top 5) books (whether it’s fiction or non fiction)? The reason I wonder is that I imagine some works would be more satisfying/fun to read (or listen to as an audiobook) than others if the narrative is rich on non-visual description.
Thanks for the other questions you answered!
How do you use touchscreen devices
I need to ask this because no one has yet but how do you know when to stop wiping when using the restroom/bathroom?
Hi there! I always wanted to ask a blind person if they have tried LSD because apparently it makes your brain „see“ the visual hallucinations. So have you ever tried LSD? If so: How was it?
Do you dream when you sleep?
Hi Zara, I’m curious to know, how do you conceptualize time? For sighted people, we mostly see the difference in sunlight and night approaching as darkness taking the sky. Do you rely on a clock to verbally tell time? If you have to be somewhere by x time, how do you know you’re on time?
Not sure how old you are but have you ever tried psychedelics? Always wondered what blind/deaf people might see or hear under the influence of something like psilocybin or DMT.
What does it feel like when you put in your prosetic eyes? Can you feel them once they’re in? Is there any medical benefits to the prosetics, or are they just for looks?
I pray Allah to reward you with Jannah for your patience.
In your other posts, how do you select images? Is it with the use of AI that’s able to tell you what the image is?
what’s a scary moment you’ve had that wouldn’t have been scary if you could see?
Hi Zara, I often wonder whether blind people care about their own make up or hairdo. I only ask this because looking in the mirror for me is a trigger to be self-conscious about the way I look.
Do you ask certain others to check your looks?
Or maybe you don’t care, but you care more how you smell and sound?
I work with a blind girl at school. She’s 8. She has a braille teacher, practicing on a braille writer and mobility aide she sees daily. She’s very bright and I enjoy working with her. She loves to tell stories and I always wonder how she visualizes things in her mind. I always explain everything to her. How do you yourself visualize colors? Do you pick your own clothes or does someone lay them out for you? Do you worry about how you’re dressed?
Saw the dream question… Ever have a nightmare? What’s that like for you?
Not sure how it would happen, but you should really try to learn lucid dreaming. I’m a big believer in the mind being the source of consciousness, and I do believe telepathy between outside minds is possible given your mind is open to it being possible. So I guess I believe through lucid dreaming, you could interact with external entities and minds, and possibly “see” in them. Of course your brain doesn’t have the data at all so it’s not like neurons could make it happen, but in lucid dreaming since I believe you are in “the mind”, you can have your mind have eternal data come in.
So if you was to lucid dream, and essentially imagine engaging with other minds who do have eyesight and “plugging in their eyes” could add that data to your mind.
Sorry if this makes zero sense to explain. But even if you don’t believe it, I think conceptually “plugging in eyes” would result in an interesting lucid dream regardless.
As for a question, please describe visualisation or how your concepts are formed to the best of your ability. When you think of a concept, say a spinning apple. Obviously it doesn’t manifest “visually” but what can you “see” with your other senses?
Ive heard stories of blind folks trying DMT & having the experiance to “see” colours & images. Would you ever or have this expeirance?
How do you learn and participate in school?
PS I am from Alabama USA where Helen Keller was born and raised. If you don’t know her, look her up.
Damn, girl, you’re badass. Blind, queer, Muslim, and Iranian living in UK. Voluntarily wearing a burqa and controlling your sexuality out of sheer devotion. You’re the minority and you’re rocking it – complete with a stoic attitude, trusting outlook and a serene mind. I aspire to be as tough and confident yet humble as you.
Wish you all the best
Hi Zara, I used to work as a taxi driver for people who could not drive for whatever reason.
I had a few blind people and they were my favourite customers by far. Very thoughtful and engaging, they loved to make small talk and would ask great questions. Also very friendly with great manners. They always seemed so happy and grateful for life. Way more than the average citizen. This just stood out so much and it left a big impression on me.
Do you have any explanation why? Do you feel more happy overall in comparison to sighted friends/family in your opinion?
Kind regards!
Forgive my ignorance:
Do you read books in Braille or listen to audio books (or both!)
Do you read English and/or Arabic Braille (I believe they are different?)
Thank you. Also, as a fellow queer woman I respect and honor your decision.
Goalball sounds so cool! Do lots of sighted people come to see the games?