There is a general saying that goes, “We become who we are with”! Associating ourselves with the right set of people is more important as it has a huge impact on our behaviours too. The trick lies in finding the right group.
The human brain is wired in a way that we tend to do what we see others do. That being the case, we must be very careful about who we look up to or with whom we spend our time with. Our environment plays a huge role in our life. Take our children for example, how we react to everyday situations makes them react in the same way. If we show compassion then they follow that but if we show hatred and bitterness, no second-guessing, they are sure to do it that way.
Once there was this little girl who was very active and energetic. She would not sit in one place but would jump around and shout and giggle at the top of her voice that her parents and siblings stopped correcting her at one point. She was this bundle of joy in her family and they all loved her dearly.
During one winter, came the season of flu and the little one was affected by it. So many doctors visited her and treated her with different medicines but she did not get well but kept worsening day by day. The house was silent because there was no one to make noise.
Then miraculously, one day she started responding to a new set of medicines and started getting better. She showed little signs of movement but was still very weak.
That's when the doctor came to the family with the devastating news that the little girl had lost her sight and hearing abilities because of this fever and would not be able to see or hear any more. The entire family was shattered because their little bundle of joy was not the same any more. But still, they found solace in knowing that she would live.
Days passed by and every day was a fight for our little girl. She couldn’t understand why she was not able to hear or see. So she started throwing tantrums and started breaking things around her. From a joyous little girl, she went on to be a girl with lots of anger and irritation. She started hurting herself not knowing how to vent out her helplessness. She could be calmed down only by her mother’s touch. She would lie down on her lap and that’s the only time she would be peaceful.
She grew up eventually and was at the right age to start schooling. But since she is a special child, her parents decided to homeschool her. So they brought in teachers to help their daughter learn. Since the child couldn’t see or hear, teaching her was becoming very very difficult. Almost every teacher who walked in, seeing this challenge left the job even though the pay was comparatively high!
Then walked in a teacher who said she had experience in handling children of this calibre and would be able to do so without any difficulty. She was both a compassionate and a strict teacher. Whenever the little one throws a tantrum, runs wild or hurts herself, she will be the first person to jump in and stop her. She can't scold because the little one can't hear, so she would use her hands and hold her tight. She will not allow her to move and make her sit in one place. The little girl's parents were worried about the strict teacher but gradually gave in to her teaching methods.
They started seeing a good change in the girl's behaviour. Now it was time for her to learn. The parents were hesitant on how she would teach. The teacher would draw each alphabet on the girl’s palms with her fingers for the girl to get familiarised, they called it finger-spelling. For the girl to know the sound, the teacher will place the girl’s hands on the teacher's throat so she can sense the vibrations each syllable causes. It was a very very daunting process to teach each letter, each word and each sentence through writing on her hands and placing hands on her throats and lips but she did it anyway.
That little girl couldn’t stop the joy she had when she found out how to say each letter and that they put together formed words. She realized each object had a name. She learnt to put words together to make sentences. The teacher took her to nature walks to make her feel the things around her and learn. The braille system helped the little girl to learn better. She tried to read lips by feeling the movement of the speaker’s lips and throat. She was attracted to reading books and tried her hands at writing letters too.
The miracle happened one day when the little girl spoke her first syllable with great difficulty, her voice was very odd but nonetheless, it was her own voice. Later she used it to create awareness about the children with special needs and their world. She was called the “wonder girl“ and a “miracle”. She was known as the deaf-blind girl who went on to speak and write against all odds.
She is none other than Ms. Helen Keller and the awesome teacher who helped her overcome all the odds using creative methods was Ms. Anne Sullivan. Helen broke all the barriers that were found before her and broke the glass ceiling to soar high when the world around her said she couldn’t do it. Helen went on to become close friends with most of the Presidents of the USA and even formed good relationships with Alexander Graham Bell and Charlie Chaplin. She lived her life in full between 1880 - 1968.
All these were possible only because of that one great teacher Ms. Annie Sullivan. If not for her, Helen would have been just another ordinary girl. This teacher made all the difference in the life of Helen.
These are the kind of people we need to be with. The ones who would never give up on us, the ones who will find greatness in everything we do, the ones who will make sure we achieve the impossible, the ones who would always be with us cheering us up to chase our wildest dreams, the oneness who would stand by our side during trials and tribulations.
If we don’t find one like this, go on and become one. Be a beacon of hope and light in someone’s life, be that kind of a person who would make all the difference in someone’s world and help them attain the impossible. Help someone break the barrier and march ahead when everyone says it is impossible. Be that right kind of person, no what-if’s, or second thoughts!
About the Author
Shalini Solomon comes with close to 15 years of industry experience in the Human Resources space. She is currently designated as Head - People and Values with Kazh Fintech Private Limited. She likes to interact with people and makes sure they have the space to grow and learn and are free to work without any pressure. People first is always her approach. She holds an Engineering degree in Computer Science.