The reason I have my job is because the NFB gave me a positive outlook on life. Blind people, I learned, could work in any job. The NFB also gave me independence. Every day, I know that the loving family of Federationists around the country is rooting for me. That’s a big motivator. Without the hope that the NFB gives to me, I could not go to work every day.

Fifteen years ago, leukemia put me in a coma for six weeks. The doctors said that I wouldn’t wake up.

When I awoke, I’m told that I was unconscious of my surroundings. I didn’t recognize my parents. I didn’t even know how to use a spoon. I didn’t remember how to eat.

I was in shock, for I could no longer see.

During that time, I worked on myself. This couldn’t be the end of the road. I knew that I had to make a change so that I could live my life as a blind person. That said, it took me a long time to recuperate and adjust to my blindness. I don’t like to remember those months of pain.

From that time until now, I focused on what I had to do to just live my life as a blind person.

Blindness training at the Criss Cole Rehabilitation Center showed me my weaknesses. I then understood what I needed to do to be independent.

The world, I realized, was all about accomplishing goals. Reaching my long-term goal was all about reaching lots of short-term goals.

Learning braille was my first goal. I knew that I could connect to the rest of the world if I had braille under my fingers. Today, braille is everything to me. Through a series of raised dots, I can communicate with my blind friends, which reordered my life.

Technology mattered, too. Today, I plan all my goals in a Microsoft Word document. As I go through the day, once I reach a goal, I erase it. That practice makes me more aware of what I need to work on and be aware of what direction I need to take.

Adjusting to life as a blind person took more than learning to travel with a cane, live in a dorm, clean my room, and cook for myself. The National Federation of the Blind helped me to learn those lessons and realize my first, main goal: graduating high school.

I met Richie Flores while attending the postsecondary program at the Texas School for the Blind. When we first met, I was jealous of how he acted as a blind person. I wanted to be like him, to be as independent in everything I did, and I wanted to be someone to whom people looked up. I appreciate how he gave me the chance to watch him live life and learn from his ways of doing things.

Richie changed how I thought about myself.

I learned that I had to depend on myself. I saw that my life wasn’t dependent on my family. I had to be independent wherever I went.

Short-term memory loss had invaded my life. While my counselor had showed me ways to use the computer to keep track of lists and calendars, they weren’t quite enough. Over time, the NFBTX mentoring program helped me to realize that I had to make a change.

So, finally, I just got up and realized I had to do something. That’s when I began to attack those short-term goals, my dream, with a vengeance.

From there, I knew that I wanted to graduate from college. I saw how my brother graduated with a degree in biomedical engineering, and I watched my sister graduate from pharmacy school. I looked up to them, and—if I wanted to be equal with them—I had to get my degree. I’ll soon graduate with a degree in business administration.

But today, I am working at my dream job. I am a Product Zone Specialist for the Apple Retail Store at Baybrook Mall in Friendswood.

I’m the one who talks with customers about why they’re at the store and what they want to buy. If someone wants to buy an iPhone, I’m the one who can take the lead about which model will meet their needs.

The whole store team is working with me to make an impact for the whole blindness community. Apple is taking steps to resolve a few accessibility bugs with our devices…not only for me but also for all blind people. I’m not going to be the last blind person to work for Apple.

Working for Apple is a privilege because I never thought that I, a blind person, would work at a retail store. I know blind people who work for corporate, but I thought retail would be impossible.

When customers approach me, I want them to feel empowered. I want them to see that Apple has a blind person in their store that is working for them, the customer. Sure, they experience a momentary panic. When they see that I’m completing the transaction with them like anyone else, though, they get over it.

The reason I have my job is because the NFB gave me a positive outlook on life. Blind people, I learned, could work in any job. The NFB also gave me independence. Every day, I know that the loving family of Federationists around the country is rooting for me. That’s a big motivator. Without the hope that the NFB gives to me, I could not go to work every day.

You can’t reach every goal by yourself. You need others. I learned these things from my Federation family. I want to make a difference in others’ lives, as the Federation made an impact on mine.