Journeying through life

In the last few weeks, I have been encouraged to tell my story. I am totally blind and am in college. In this blog, I hope to tell how I got to this point in my life. It has not been an easy journey so far, but those hardships have shaped the person I am today. I am looking forward to the future and will also be sharing that in this blog.

I am now in an exciting time in my life. I have overcome a lot to get to where I am at now. In the next few months a big change will occur in my life. I have a guide dog named Bristol. He has been my faithful companion for nearly five years. It is time to retire him and to start a new and exciting journey with a new one. I am looking forward to getting the new one, but at the same time I am dreading the day I have to walk away from Bristol. I feel like I'm in some way betraying Bristol's trust by retiring him and replacing him with another dog that will be with me constantly. At first, Bristol will struggle with the presence of the new dog. I am not looking forward to that part. Even though Bristol will be spending the rest of his life with my parents who adore him, it will not be the same for him. For me,no dog will ever take over the spot in my heart that I have for him. He was my first guide dog. Bristol gave me the greatest gift of independence. Through Bristol, I have discovered that there are many things that I can do that I thought was out of my reach. I am able to walk independently without holding on to another person. My next dog will be a continuation of that freedom, but it was Bristol who first showed me that it is possible to live independently.