"Staring is not caring"

Have you ever been in a situation where a person is staring at you and you wonder, "Do I have something in my teeth?"

As a person living with a physical disability, people frequently stare at me.  When I see people staring at me, it often makes me very self-conscious about the way I walk. However, I have to admit that one of the perks of being visually impaired is that I don't always see people staring at me.

When my family and friends notice people watching me, they will often say, "What is that person looking at?" My family and friends don't see me as "different" from other people and I feel this is why they don't understand people who don't know me but look at me differently.

I believe that one of the reasons people stare is curiosity. It is okay to be curious and even relieve your curiosity by asking a question in a kind manner but to just stand there and glare is rude.

This is going to sound very sassy but sometimes when people are staring at me I want to say to them, "You should take a picture, it will last a lot longer!"

Once I fell in a very public place and needed a helping hand.  I was on the ground clearly hurt and shaken and people just stared and continued to walk past. The fact that nobody bothered to stop and help really surprised me and made me feel very alone. Finally, someone who knew me stopped to offer their help.

I am sharing this story to remind you that even if you don't know the person, one little gesture of kindness could make someone's day and be the helping hand they need.





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