TED BURSA COLLEGE / 11-C
Helen Keller : A Woman Whose Success is As Great As Her Obstacles
Arda Irmak
58
It ’ s not possible to think of living in a world where there is no means of any problem . No matter what the place or the condition , everybody has a wide variety of unique obstacles in their daily lives . But , is the term “ obstacles ” only used to describe the difficulties present that makes our lives harder than it already is ? If this was the case , people with “ great ” obstacles wouldn ’ t be able to acquire “ great ” achievements . Therefore , obstacles are not to be seen as unbreakable walls that block the future , but rather as stepping stones that make us even stronger and lead us to overcome them , as Helen Keller also did .
Born in June 1880 , Helen Keller was diagnosed with blindness and deafness at of 19 months . After being examined by Alexander Graham Bell , she was sent to the “ Perkins Institution for the Blind ” in Boston where Anne Sullivan was a teacher , who was known for her accomplishments in educating numerous people with physical disabilities . 1
After some time , despite her dire conditions , Helen had shown great improvements and learned to read and make her own sentences . Then she began to learn how to speak under Sarah Fuller of the Horace Mann School for the Deaf . Consequently , at the age of 16 , she entered the Cambridge School for Young Ladies in Massachusetts to pursue her education . It can be clearly seen that she had never seen her disability as something that limited her life or her accomplishments . Her physical disabilities were always with her , but she never let them turn into obstacles she failed to overcome ; they were only some stepping stones for her , that led her to the successes she had gained . Having been the author of several books such as The Story of My Life , Optimism , The World I Live In ; she had proven that obstacles can ’ t stop you from succeeding once you embrace them and let them “ lead you to something better .” Now , due to her great successes as a disabled person , as Mark Twain had also stated : “ Helen Keller is fellow to Caesar , Alexander , Napoleon , Homer , Shakespeare and the rest of the immortals … She will be as famous a thousand years from now as she is today .”
References :
1 : Encyclopædia Britannica , inc . ( n . d .). Helen Keller . Encyclopædia Britannica . Retrieved January 15 , 2023 , from https :// www . britannica . com / biography / Helen-Keller
2 : HistoryExtra . ( 2022 , August 30 ). 9 things you ( probably ) didn ’ t know about Helen Keller . HistoryExtra . Retrieved January 15 , 2023 , from https :// www . historyextra . com / period / 20th-century / 9-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-helen-keller /
3 : History . com Editors . ( 2010 , April 14 ). Helen Keller . History . com . Retrieved January 15 , 2023 , from https :// www . history . com / topics / womens-history / helen-keller