“Only in the mind one’s disability lies.”
With deafness and blindness, she went on to become a beacon of light. She inspires the world throughout her life and teaches us the lesson that disability is never a problem to achieve our goals. She is none other than Helen Keller who gives hope to millions of people.
The illness that costs too much:
Helen Keller was born in Tuscumbia, USA on 27th June, 1880. She was born to Arthur Henley Keller and Kate Adams Keller. She lived in a house which was built by her grandfather and they led a quiet and comfortable life. But everything collapsed when Helen Keller was diagnosed with an unknown illness. At that time, the doctor described this unknown illness as “an acute congestion of the stomach and the brain” which had a high mortality rate in those days. But luckily Helen Keller got well. However, things turned upside down, when Helen Keller’s mother noticed that Helen stopped responding to the dinner bell and could not notice her mother’s hand gestures when she passed it in front of Helen’s eyes. The fever had costed Helen Keller her eyesight and her hearing power.
Turning into an unruly child:
Helen Keller’s blindness and deafness has affected her psychologically which had turned her into an unruly child. With the inability to express her thoughts and needs, she became a difficult child to handle. In frustration, Helen Keller began to break things like the dishes and lamps and not only that she began to throw temper tantrums and began to scream at the people of the household. All the kit and kin of Helen Keller felt that she is behaving like an uncontrollable monster and must be put into an institution. Soon her parents also lost their patience.
A ray of hope:
Helen’s mother travelled to meet a specialist doctor to ask for some advice regarding Helen’s medical condition. To her disappointment the doctor said that Helen for her entire life cannot see or hear. But the doctor suggested that Helen can be taught and referred to visit a local expert. The expert was none other than Alexander Graham Bell who was the inventor of the telephone. He asked Helen’s mother to write to the Perkins Institution for the Blind in Boston. The institution sent a tutor to teach Helen Keller and slowly her life began to change for the best.
The miracle teacher:
Anne Sullivan was an excellent tutor who began to teach words to Helen Keller by spelling it in her hand. Though Helen could imitate the hand moment, she felt frustrated at the thought that each object had a unique word and she was unable to understand their meaning. In anger, Helen Keller broke the doll which was presented to her by Anne Sullivan. But everything changed when Anne Sullivan took her to a water pump and kept Helen’s hand under the cool stream and spelt the word ‘water’. For the first time Helen understood the meaning of the word and within the next few hours she learnt thirty new words. Anne Sullivan was definitely a miracle teacher for Helen Keller, who also became her companion for fifty long years.
Overcoming obstacles and achieving laurels:
Helen Keller joined the Perkins Institution for the blind and learnt the Braille language. Then with the help of Sarah Fuller, Helen began to learn the process of learning to speak. She began to lip-read by keeping her fingers on the throat and lips of the speaker. She was able to type with both ordinary and braille typewriters. Her next achievement made the world to notice Helen Keller. In 1900, Helen gained admission in Radcliffe College and in 1904, Helen Keller became the first deaf-blind person to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Inspiring the world with her words:
Helen Keller with her lectures and speeches inspired people around the world and soon she became the voice of the people with disabilities. She began to inspire people to face the obstacles of life with courage and taught the great lesson that physical disability cannot hinder the progress of a person, if they are determined to make their life better. Helen Keller was also a prolific writer who has written a number of books and essays. The book ‘The Story of My Life’ was her autobiography which contains the incidents of her life from her childhood to the age of twenty-one.
Contribution to the society:
Helen Keller was a social activist and have greatly contributed to the welfare of the people, especially people with disabilities. Some of her social activities include,
In 1930, she cofounded the American Civil Liberties Union.
By 1937, in thirty states, Helen had promoted the organization of commission for the blind.
Appreciations for her accomplishments:
Helen Keller has received a lot of honours and recognitions for her contributions to the society and disabled people.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom
The French Legion of Honour
Several honorary university degrees
A peaceful sleep:
In 1961, Helen suffered a stroke and from then on, she spent her remaining life at her home in Connecticut. She peacefully died in her sleep on June 1, 1968, just few weeks before her eighty-eight birthday. She was buried beside her favourite companions Anne Sullivan and Polly Thomson in Washington National Cathedral. Helen Keller has been named as the hundred most important figures of the twentieth century on Time’s magazine in 1999.
Conclusion:
In today’s world, where even a small failure can cause people to give up on their dreams and sometimes even their life, Helen Keller proved that, in spite of her disabilities, she had achieved what she wanted. Her life is an example which proves that any person who has the courage to pursue his dreams against all odds and obstacles will definitely achieve the pinnacle of success.
By – Samyuktha R
Write and Win: Participate in Creative writing Contest & International Essay Contest and win fabulous prizes.
