Full Transcript
Pete:
The coronavirus – creeping onto the world’s scene only a few short months ago and then exploding into our day-to-day lives. Every day we hear about the impact of corona and COVID-19 on – well, almost everyone. But how is it affecting disabled individuals? Today on Blind Abilities we explore just how blind and visually impaired individuals have experienced and adapted to corona and COVID-19. We have circumnavigated the world, from Australia to Malaysia-
Elise Lonsdale:
My name is Elise Lonsdale, and I’m from northern Australia.
Chee Chau:
This is Chee Chau, from Malaysia.
Pete:
-England-
Steve Wicketts:
Hi, my name’s Steve,
Jo Fishwick:
-Jo Fishwick-
Pete:
-Trinidad and Tobago-
Marlon Parieaho:
-Marlon Parieaho-
Pete:
-and Canada-
Nick D’Ambrosio:
-Nick D’Ambrosio-
Tim McIsaac:
-Tim McIsaac-
Pete:
-Japan-
Hiroyuki Shinagawa:
-Hiroyuki Shinagawa-
Pete:
-the United States-
Lori Thompson:
-Lori Thompson-
Brooklyn Rodden Kelly:
-Brooklyn-
Brian Fischler:
-Brian Fischler-
Sherry Molengraft:
-Sherry Molengraft-
Jeff Bazer:
-Jeff Bazer-
Chelsie Reid:
-Chelsie Reid-
Pete:
In this, the 15th episode in our series Around the World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective, we hear yet another different and uniquely fascinating report on the coronavirus and COVID-19 and its impact on a blind individual. Chelsie Reid is a college student living in New York City. When the coronavirus shelter-in-place order was imposed, she was unable to return to school following her spring break. Chelsie experienced anxiety and some depression, resulting from her drastically changed lifestyle. Join Chelsie as she shares her feelings, her anxiety, what she did to overcome them, and how she thrived despite the limitations brought about by the coronavirus. And now, please join our guest, Chelsie Reid.
American man 1:
There are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in New York thus far.
American Newscaster (male) 1:
-and now here in New York City, a state of emergency declared as well.
[transition noise]
-school districts shutting down today, now 4.9 million school children across the country at home.
[transition noise]
-that first containment zone now in effect, the National Guard on the scene in New Rochelle, New York, just outside the city-
[transition noise]
-and in New York, a ban on crowds, Broadway dark, concert halls and museums set to close.
[transition noise]
-and that state of emergency here in New York City, the mayor reporting a major jump in cases today-
[transition noise]
-the NCAA tournament cancelled, the NBA season suspended-
Chelsie Reid:
Hi you guys, my name is Chelsie Reid, and I just wanted to talk to you about what I’ve been doing ever since the coronavirus shelter-in-place order. I’m a college student, and when coronavirus shelter-in-place order was issued, I was actually on my spring break and couldn’t go back to school because they told us that the school would be closed, and it was very- how do I say? Nobody knew what was happening, it was chaos. It was the middle of my semester, I didn’t know what was going to happen, I was so confused because I was going from in-person learning to virtual learning, and I just felt awful. I was, like- I was in a rut, I didn’t know what to do. I’m really a go-getter—if you ask anybody about me, they would say I’m always busy, I’m always trying to better myself, I’m always doing something. But when the shelter-in-place order was issued, I was, like, so depressed, because like what am I going to do? I had so much planned, so much I wanted to do, I wasn’t going to be able to see my friends, I wasn’t going to be able to walk around, and just be free, and so I was very depressed. I started falling behind in my schoolwork, I just didn’t want to do anything, I just wanted to lay down and be left alone, but after a few weeks of that, I noticed that I was falling behind in class, and so I was like “Get yourself together Chelsie, because you’re not like that,” I’m not like that, so I was like “Okay, what do I have to do.” So the first thing I did was I talked to a counselor about how I was feeling, and she explained that I wasn’t the only one feeling that way. I enjoyed talking to her about my feelings, and she explained to me that if I stay busy, it’ll be a little bit better. So I was like “Okay, I’ve got to stay busy,” so I started doing my homework again, then I started looking into things that I can do, and I remembered hey, I have a YouTube channel that I never get to do especially because I’m always busy.
[transition noise]
What’s up, YouTube, I’m back! So today, I wanted to tell you guys a little bit about myself. My name is Chelsie Reid, and I’m 19 years old. I was born in a country called Guyana that is in South America—we’re kind of like Jamaica, but we’re an island, not a country- I mean, we’re a country, not an island. When I was born, I was diagnosed with retinoblastoma—that’s cancer in the eyes, for anyone who doesn’t know that. Because of this, me and my mom had to move to America, where I would be receiving chemotherapy.
[transition noise]
So I channeled all of that depression into working with my YouTube channel. I had my sister edit for me, I would put different videos up every Wednesday and Friday, and that’s what I’ve maintained throughout the summer.
[transition noise]
Hi you guys, welcome back to my channel! Today I’m going to be doing a kind of challenge that I set up for my little sister, and since she’s not blind, I blindfolded her. To assist me, I have a wonderful, nice agent from Aira who’s going to assist me in telling you guys what’s going on. So, let’s get started!
[transition noise]
I also looked up other things that I can do, and I found out about this club, and it’s called Runway of Dreams, and it’s about people with disabilities—these people make clothing for people with disabilities, and who have a hard time getting dressed. And so I really loved that concept, because I believe that if you are in something that you’re comfortable with, you’re going to feel confident, you’re going to feel amazing. So I joined up with the people from Runway of Dreams-
Runway of Dreams Member:
Hello everyone, we are so excited to have you here with us today at the Runway of Dreams virtual adaptive runway show. For our show, we were able to talk to nine models with incredible stories. Adaptive clothing has an incredible impact on those who wear it.
Chelsie:
-so all about feeling confident, and knowing self-worth, because I think so much times we look at ourselves, and we, like, think that we look horrible. We don’t feel confident, we don’t feel great. I think it’s partly because of what we wear, or the environment around us, so that’s why I joined up with them. Then I took some summer classes to, again, better myself, because I found out that, like, I’m not really good at public speaking. Crazy, right, since I’m speaking publicly now, but I wanted to be better, because my job- what I hope to do in the future is become a teacher, and in order to become a teacher, you obviously have to speak out loud. So I was like “Okay, let me do that, let me take this opportunity to better myself,” and I actually took the class and I passed, I got an A, and I was so surprised that I was able to do that, it really made me happy. And then I continued to do my YouTube channel, and I was like “Okay, I’m glad that I passed the time by taking a class, but what else can I do?” And so I collabed with some people, some amazing people [unintelligible] on YouTube, I collabed with my friends, I did some collabs with other blind people, and I also interviewed an amazing person who is a mentor and a friend. I interviewed Jonathan Marin, the author of See Us. He talked about his discovery project, and I really enjoyed it because, like I said, I’m always looking for ways that I can better myself. And I was actually part of the discovery project—I’m not one of the people that he wrote about in his book, once upon a time I was a part of the project when I was back in high school, and so I was like “Oh my goodness, it’s amazing what he’s doing.”
Jonathan Marin:
Chelsie, you know what happens is students are in my program and they start building up their resume, right, from high school. So by the time they get to college, like you did, you already have a resume with probably a lot more work experience than your freshman classmates, another big benefit from this internship program.
Chelsie:
So I want to promote people who are go-getters, who are like me, who never say no to an open opportunity. I was very happy about that. I also took the time a few weeks ago to go to this program, a work readiness program that talked about how to conduct yourself professionally-
Program Speaker:
-live, we are live, you all. I am in the company of three beautiful young, aspiring people of color, welcome to-
Chelsie:
Like I said, I’m always trying to stay busy-
Program Speaker:
-today’s discussion: blind people have a difficult time becoming gainfully employed. I have three guests, Gabby, Chelsie, and-
Chelsie:
-and by staying busy, I’ve gotten rid of that anxiety I’ve felt, that depression that I’ve felt, and the helplessness. I’m not staying that’s not there, still, but by doing all of the things I’ve done, I’ve been able to handle it a little bit better. I’ve been beading as well—actually for my birthday, my birthday was just last week, my friend gave me a beading set because I love to bead, and I love to read, I know it rhymes, but that’s- and so, I was able to do that as well. When my birthday was approaching, I was kind of worried because I didn’t expect for me to have a great birthday, because I’ve just turned 21, and I was like “Okay, what am I going to do? The coronavirus is here, nobody can come to my birthday party.” It’s kind of depressing, I was, like, hoping to go somewhere for my birthday, but because of the coronavirus everything’s shut down.
American Newscaster (female) 1:
The epicenter in the U.S. is now clearly New York, with more than 12,000 cases, most of them here in New York City, and by tonight New York state’s 19 million residents will be under a stay at home order. New York City’s Times Square is cleared out, and that is exactly what the mayor and governor of New York want to see—people staying home, especially now-
Chelsie:
So, I was like “Oh my gosh, what am I going to do, it’s not going to be amazing.” I was totally wrong. My mom was amazing, her and my sister decorated our dining room in gold and pink, they decorated with beautiful balloons from Party City that said 21, it was in gold, they got me a tiara, they got me a beautiful outfit, and I wore heels, and then they got me the cake I wanted which was ice cream cake, and they got cupcakes, and they just did it big even though there was, like, hardly anyone here. And I just felt like a queen, and my best friends, they put together a video for me saying beautiful things about me, which really, really surprised me. And my mom got me this really beautiful bracelet, it’s rose gold, very beautiful, airpods case holder, because I’m always losing my airpods, and my friends know me, so I was very, very touched, and it made me cry because my friends- my friends are amazing, my friends, my family, they were so amazing. And with the help of them, I had an amazing birthday, and I had a Zoom party, so, like, I just had an amazing birthday, and I was able to handle the coronavirus in my little way, with my family, with my friends, and by staying busy.
And that’s how a blind college student handled the coronavirus. Thank you for listening, I hope you have a nice day.
American Newscaster (male) 2:
The city begins reopening today-
American Newscaster (female) 2:
This morning, New York City crossing a major milestone in the fight against the coronavirus.
Governor Andrew Cuomo:
Forget flatten the curve, I’m going to change the state signs. We bent the curve.
American Newscaster (female) 2:
The former epicenter of the outbreak now officially reopening, as many as 400,000 people back on the job, stores now opening their doors for curbside pickup-
Pete:
We’re so thankful to Chelsie for coming by, and providing a totally different perspective on corona and COVID-19. Be sure to stay tuned for more episodes in our series Around the World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective. And from all of us here at Blind Abilities, through these challenging times, to you, your family, and friends, stay well, stay informed, and stay strong. Thank you so much for listening, and have a great day.
[Music] [Transition noise] -When we share
-What we see
-Through each other’s eyes…
[Multiple voices overlapping, in unison, to form a single sentence]
…We can then begin to bridge the gap between the limited expectations, and the realities of Blind Abilities.
Jeff:
For more podcasts with the blindness perspective, check us out on the web at www.blindabilities.com, on Twitter @BlindAbilities. Download our app from the app store Blind Abilities, that’s two words, or send us an email at info@blindabilities.com. Thanks for listening.
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