Today I went back to school. It was my first day as a junior in the 2022-2023 school year at Salem High School. Exciting, right? Yeah, no. Not even close.
Not to sound negative, but I despise high school as a whole for countless reasons. Mostly, I find it hard to coexist with other people-social anxiety. Especially when those other people are high schoolers. Add to that my low vision and I have the perfect storm for what is guaranteed to be the worst day of the year.
There are tons of situations and circumstances that complicate my first day of school because of my low vision. They all played a part in making today especially difficult and stressful.
Figuring out where all my classes are and maneuvering through the halls on the first day is possibly the hardest part of starting any school year with low vision.
This is the most concerning when going to a new school. I’ve had it easier the past few years since I have been in the same building since seventh grade. I truly sympathize with anyone who has low vision and is starting at a new school building this year. It’s beyond stressful and there’s not much to be done to counteract that.
I remember my first day at SHS, and it was much worse than what I dealt with today. Everything was new and scary. The hallways were crowded and I couldn’t tell where I was, let alone where I needed to go. The only reason I made it through the day was the orientation all seventh graders had to go to before school started. This gave me a chance to see how the building was laid out and where some of my classes were. Of course, it was much harder on my first day without my parents. Plus there were hundreds of kids pushing and shoving in the hallways.
The orientation still helped to some degree. Without it, I probably would have been late to every class that day. If you have issues with navigating because of low vision, I highly recommend finding a way to preview a new school building before the first dau. Even if your school doesn’t offer an orientation of some sort, I would guess that most school systems would let you walk the halls before school starts anyways.
Even though my school building didn’t change this year, my classes did. Finding my new classes presented a challenge of its own, despite my being familiar with my school. It helped that the building isn’t too big so I pretty much knew the general area of all my new classes
I only had a couple of classes today that were in rooms I wasn’t familiar with. I wasn’t exactly sure where they were, but I had at least memorized the room numbers. You would think it would be easy, or at least doable, to find a classroom once you know the room number. It’s not, at least not for me.
The room numbers are on the tops of the door frames and are insanely small. I am short and have an eye disease. The numbers and I don’t get along all that well. It takes more than a brief glance for me to read them and others aren’t exactly polite enough the walk around me as I squint upwards in the hallway. I was pushed around more than once in the crowded hallways of SHS today. I found all my classes eventually, and everything turned out fine.
New classes still aren’t nearly as terrifying as a new school, but they’re nothing to laugh at, either.
It’s hard to tell anyone about my low vision, but teachers are the worst. My biggest worry when telling someone about my situation is how they’ll react or if they’ll understand. When telling teachers it’s even worse because I need them to understand, or I’ll have a long school year ahead of me.
It would probably be best if I had this discussion in person, face-to-face. Maybe find time on the first day to pull my teachers aside and explain my situation. This way we could get a better sense of each other and what will work best for dealing with problems throughout the year. I am way too scared to do that, so I just send them all emails. I make sure to be extra polite, formal, and detailed about my situation. So far, I have always received positive responses. This may change when I go to college in a couple of years, but I hope not.
For any other visually impaired teens who are as socially stunted as I am, I want to share a general draft of my emails. You can feel free to use it as a guide to write your own back to school teacher emails. It is a tested and fool-proof resource. You can find the draft here.
Overall, the first day of school is hard, especially for kids with low vision, or any type of disability. No matter how much you prepare, it’s an unpredictable mess of a day. I would love to say that after the first day, things start to calm down, and life is easy. That’s kind of true, but also not. It may get a little easier to navigate my days, but other problems will always pop up, big and small. The best thing that I or anyone else can do is take it one day at a time.
For another school related story about my struggles with low vision, check out my previous blog post My Mini Success Story.
22 Comments
Thank you for sharing your experiences! I hope your school year gets easier soon. I have dyslexia and from my experience my college professors were significantly more understanding than my high school teachers. I think they had more experience with students with disabilities. It also lead to some great one on one time with my professors (which is not always easy to get in college).
That is so cool that your college professors are understanding of your situation. I hope my college experience will be that great. Thanks for sharing!
I don’t think the title of your article matches the content lol. Just kidding, mainly because I had some doubts after reading the article. [Link deleted]
Can you be more specific about the content of your article? After reading it, I still have some doubts. Hope you can help me. [Link deleted]
Thanks for fantastic info. What trips can you recommend in 2024? Astro tourism, eco diving, home swapping, train stations are the new food destinations,sports tourism, coolcationing, gig tripping, private group travel?
I am not sure where you’re getting your info, but good topic. I needs to spend some time learning more or understanding more.
Thanks for wonderful info I was looking for this info for my mission.
Special offer for baclofen: get baclofen online no prescription only 0.66 per pill – [Link deleted]get free AirMail shipping or free courier delivery and discount for all purchased! Two free pills (Viagra or Cialis or Levitra) available with every order.
order antibiotics online overnight cheap generic antibiotics no script antibiotics online no rx overnight antibiotics for dogs petsmart How to order antibiotics online overnight antibiotics us overnight fedex cvs online drugstore buy antibiotics quick delivery usa online shopping, buy antibiotic online overnight no rx antibiotics and muscle pain antibiotics no prescription Usa shipping antibiotics rickmansworth no rxs buying antibiotics overnight delivery drugs online delivery
I don’t think the title of your article matches the content lol. Just kidding, mainly because I had some doubts after reading the article.
cheap canadian amoxicillin buy amoxicillin overnight delivery without rx buy amoxicillin no prescription Usa shipping order generic antibiotics in USA purchasing amoxicillin overight delivery buy amoxicillin over the counter Usa generic cheaper buy cheapest amoxicillin internet pharmacy, buy cheap antibiotics prescription online shipping temperature amoxicillin discount generic amoxicillin online amoxicillin price$ get cheap amoxicillin online no prescription quality and satisfaction guaranteed
amoxicillin with free shipping buy amoxicillin online fast delivery Usa order amoxicillin in Us no prerscription antibiotic without a prescription amoxicillin no order onlines prescription amoxicillin no rx online next-day amoxicillin cheap buy exclusive health meds store, purchase antibiotics no rx USA High quality Medical supplies buy amoxicillin online amoxicillin geniric buying amoxicillin fed ex fullscript pharmacy
buy cheap online ampicillin Usa ampicillin for sale ampicillin online cheap overnight buy generic antibiotic no script ampicillin buy cheap low price buy online cheap ampicillin no script discreet and legal buy ampicillin online no rx required great quality, bonus pills added. order antibiotics cheap without doctor’s are you able to order ampicillin with out doctor script with paypal payment on line? ampicillin online for sale ampicillin overnigt delivery 500mg m g get ampicillin overnight worldwide shipping – fedex/ems/usps
order amoxicillin cheap no rx where to buy amoxicillin in UK order online amoxicillin antibiotics US delivery overnight cheap amoxicillin savannah cheapest amoxicillin on net order from cvs online order amoxicillin without a rx best prices on the net: antibiotic us overnight fedex side effects of amoxicillin purchase amoxicillin buy generc amoxicillin online Los fresnos buy cheap amoxicillin UK best canadian pharmacy
amoxicillin with no prerscription buy amoxicillin 500 mg online overnight online amoxicillin buy purchase antibiotic without prescription buy amoxicillin online canada pharmacy buy amoxicillin from canada secure checkout buy amoxicillin without a prerscription hq medications here: cheap antibiotics for sale canadian pharmacy – vIsa, Mastercard buy generic amoxicillin without prescription buy amoxicillin Us farmacy order cheap amoxicillin fas buy meds without prescription
cheap amoxicillin 500 mg cheap no prerscription amoxicillin where to buy amoxicillin discount antibiotic no prescription cod delivery amoxicillin amoxicillin for sale no prescription online canadian pharmacy no prescription order amoxicillin in Us no prerscription costco online pharmacy. cheapest generic antibiotics amoxicillin breast feeding cheap amoxicillin online order purchose amoxicillin in florida on-line amoxicillin order real online pharmacy
buy cheap Usa amoxicillin where can i buy amoxicillin purchase amoxicillin in Us no prescription overnight antibiotic online cheap amoxicillin no need rx buy amoxicillin in us drugstore online usa buy amoxicillin overnight free delivery online pharmacy without prescription. antibiotic overnight USA delivery safe and secure buy amoxicillin without rx needed amoxicillin online sake Leeds buy amoxicillin no perscription cod no rx fedex shipping
online amoxicillin without prescription cheap amoxicillin no script amoxicillin with no prerscription buy antibiotics from Canada online online only! order amoxicillin now order amoxicillin online overnight home delivery service near me buy generic amoxicillin no script online pharmacie; cheap antibiotics no script where can I learn about chemists selling amoxicillin with free doctor visit using bank transfer? where to buy generic amoxicillin online amoxicillin Helena deliver amoxicillin buy cheap cvs pharmacy online delivery
Thank you for your sharing. I am worried that I lack creative ideas. It is your article that makes me full of hope. Thank you. But, I have a question, can you help me?
buy amoxicillin without prescription needed order amoxicillin without rx needed cheap amoxicillin without prescription overnight over the counter antibiotic USA no prescription amoxicillin with fed ex cheap amoxicillin online order worldwide shipping – fedex/ems/usps amoxicillin overnight without a prescription best quality, 80% off: order antibiotic online no rx amoxicillin illegaly buy generic amoxicillin no rx amoxicillin no prescription requir cheap amoxicillin without a perscription walmart pharmacy home delivery
buy cheap amoxicillin without rx order amoxicillin Usa no prescription amoxicillin online buy cheap cheap antibiotic online no rx where to order generic amoxicillin online without a rx amoxicillin order great quality – bonus pills added amoxicillin price in Usa online reddit best online, order cheap antibiotics no rx recommended dosage amoxicillin buy amoxicillin online no prescription buy amoxicillin onli ne where to buy amoxicillin online pharmacy home delivery service
get amoxil online overnight buy amoxil generic free shipping buy generic amoxil in internet buy antibiotic online without dr buying online amoxil cheap no script buy amoxil without prerscription ordering medicines online purchase amoxil in Us online quality products. buy antibiotics online USA overnight where to Locate cheapest amoxil In france online drugstores? buy amoxil from canada online amoxil 2 buy quebec buy amoxil without prescription in uk pharmacy order online
amoxil with no script buy amoxil cheap without rx amoxil online no rx overnight antibiotics buy without prescription amoxil overnight delivery no script buy amoxil cheapest online online cvs where to buy amoxil Usa buy with paypal, buy antibiotics without rx needed order cheap amoxil over the web discount amoxil in the Usa cheep amoxil buy buy amoxil online in usa canadian pharmacy