Ten years ago, I would never have imagined that I would now be soaring through cyber space. I was just settling in at a new position running a treatment program for adolescent sex offenders,my first official position after completing my Master in Counselling. It's strange how life takes those twists and turns and before we know it, we're someplace we never thought we'd ever be.

I can remember being an angry, frustrated teenager just wanting to prove to myself and the world that regardless of my vision, I could be an independent, self-sufficient human being. Leaving home at 20 to attend the university, my only goal was to make this point to the people around me. It would be much later before realizing that this point never needed to be made. Friends and family always had the confidence in me that I would succeed. The hard part was accepting the reality that I didn't have the confidence in myself. I always questioned whether or not I would be able to do the 'normal things any person does. I'm grateful for the fact that I had the courage to take risks and struggle through difficult tasks. Where this came from I don't know.

I can recall the overwhelming sense of joy and fear upon accepting that Master's certificate. Oh, I'd had jobs along the way, but now it was time to really put all that hard work and knowledge to use at something that really mattered. I found doing outpatient treatment with a population of individuals most people don't even care to give the time of day to, a major challenge.

A challenge even greater was to pick up my world and move away from all the securities that I had become accustomed to, being reasonably close to family, easy access to places and things, and a solid network of friends. There is nothing scarier than getting on an airplane with only a one-way ticket and realizing you'll never live in that place again.

Cashing in small town convenience and security, I ventured to the big city to try and establish the next chapter of my life. The adjustments were numerous. The greatest of all was facing the reality of vision loss. Up until this point my vision had remained relatively the same over the years. Now in a new place with a new job and new everything else, it was time to make some difficult decisions about my vision. More so, it meant accepting the reality that I would never again see what I use to see.

At the same time, my professional life was becoming very frustrating. Doing therapy with sex offenders can really wear a person down and I was getting sick of fighting with insurance companies and having to justify my every move to them. So, I solved the problem and quit. For a few years I floundered around going on interviews and always getting to the finals, but never getting picked.

Then a little over a year ago, my brother (a computer science professor and website creator for an advertising agency) suggested I do online counselling. This did not thrill me. Then I spent some time pondering the idea and decided to do something to benefit people who are blind and visually impaired. I wanted something unique and different, informative and insightful, and something that would use my knowledge and skills. So, here I amme and my eyes2eyes. For over 20 years, I' ve had this knowing feeling in my gut that I'm suppose to do something important in this life. I think I'm finally doing it.