College students struggle throughout their career, from choosing majors to struggling with a subject one might not be good at. The pressure that a student goes through is quite a challenge for many.
Many do not value their potential and abilities to be successful and accomplish what they want to pursue. But what is it that we tend to get depressed and drop out of school, when we have everything to succeed? But, on the other hand, students with disabilities, still get up in the morning willing to do whatever it takes to follow their dreams, them, having real reasons to give up in life?
Anthony Melena, 24, is one of many students attending Cerritos College; the only thing that differs him from the majority of the campus’s population is that he is blind. He is currently pursuing a career in sociology and he shared a bit of how his life is as a blind person.
The blind student shared that he has not always been completely blind. So, does he miss what he once had? This amazing privilege of seeing the Earth’s beauties?
“I was born blind, but at 3 months I got surgery and I was able to see from one eye for about 8 years,” he shared while sitting still, not knowing on what direction to position his head.
During school, Melena was placed into a regular class until his first grade of elementary, when he lost full sight of his only working eye. “I knew that I wasn’t going to have my sight all the time… or…I just didn’t know when it would happen.”
He was able to see color, shapes, and the outlines of people.
“Definitely no detail,” Melena expressed when talking about his ability to distinguish visuals. Arms, heads, faces, are unfamiliar to him. He only sees very bright lights like the sun, but even that very strong light that for us truly hurts our vision, he can only feel it.
Many people might think, “But what does a blind person see?”
“It’s not even really what you see; it’s just that you don’t use it anymore…it’s like a reality that isn’t there anymore,” he expressed.
Throughout his interview, Melena said that being a blind student is a struggle that is something that he is going to deal with for the rest of his life, and that it should not be depressing, but instead it is his motivation to knock down this barrier and follow his dreams.
He is currently in a relationship with a girl who already graduated and has a Math and Science degree. “I hope she’s beautiful,” he said while laughing and sharing his interests of working out and being active.
He says what he looking for in a partner is, a person to share common interests, such as running. “Somebody who is 400 pounds is not going to be following me or going along doing things like that, and I feel horrible for saying it, but is probably true.”
Many of us take things for granted, walking by the halls in the classroom buildings, thinking “this place is not for me” and all these “disabled” people who are unobserved have that strong motivation on putting themselves up and accomplishing goals even though their capabilities are different.
“It’s all perspective, we all have our own barriers, you might be depressed or you might have something at home that really drags you down, and in a sense, that might be a disability. Maybe it stops you from being productive or it stops you from being the person you want to be. I think blindness is that way, were if you let it become a barrier that is going to stop you from going to school or living a productive life,” Melena shared.
He is currently on his last phase of community college, and plans to transfer out to either UC Irvine or Santa Barbara and get his BA in sociology. He is more than motivated to pursue his goals and live a meaningful life, and blindness will not take away that from him.
“It’s something that I had to battle with, at the end of the day I have a choice to make, and it’s whether I want to be at home and cry over my disability or try my best and compete along with everyone else… I’m a much happier person for at least getting out there and trying.”
Melena’s views toward life have been recognized by one of his favorite professors, Speech Professor Angela Nagao who first met Melena when he enrolled in one of her online classes and visited her to talk about his needs as a blind student.
“My first reaction was to focus on how I can best provide for Anthony [Melena],” she said.
Nagao believes that having an interactive classroom environment where everyone feels welcome and comfortable is the most important thing that has to be developed following by good communication. Also by providing lectures and assignments with a screen reader program that aids blind students.
She says that having a student like Melena has motivated her professionally to improve her teaching to create an engaging environment with equal inclusion.
On the personal side, Nagao says that Melena’s “drive to succeed and his personal warmth” reminds her that every individual has a story and that we should all learn from them.
All college students should be motivated to accomplish their set goals disregarding physical barriers, “I believe that it is important for every individual to have goals and dreams, as well as a sense of adventure about life.
“Melena is the prime example of embracing life’s adventures. From being a member of his high school’s wrestling team, to traveling to China for the Olympics, he is in every way defining who he is and the type of life he would like to live,” Nagao concluded.