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Sometimes we need that inspiration to help us through life. Looking for inspiration is a great technique to increase self confidence. But who should inspire you?


Well that is always down to personal preference and your personality but this article is about a lady who, despite her challenges, made an positive impact in society and is certainly a person I admire and draw inspiration from. Her name is Helen Keller.

Tragedy

Helen Keller was born in Alabama in the United States on 27th June 1880. She was a very healthy child but when 19 months old she had a life threatening fever that would define her. Helen fought the fever and survived however the illness had left her blind and death (it was thought the illness was meningitis).

Anne Sullivan

Helen's parents struggled with her and she grew up a frustrated and a difficult child. Aged 6 years old her desperate parents looked for advice. It came from an unusual source Alexander Graham Bell. His vocation was to teach deaf children and he suggested that they apply for Perkins Institution for the Blind and find a teacher for young Helen. This they did and they got Anne Sullivan who herself was practically blind.

The Water Pump Moment

Despite a rocky start to their relationship, a 'miracle' was to happen a mere month later. Anne successfully taught Helen to communicate, how? Through a water pump. Anne spelled the word 'water' in one of Helen's hands and in Helen's other hand she ran water. Something clicked in Helen's brain and Helen understood what water was! Using this technique Helen quickly learned about other objects. Using braille Helen quickly learned how to read and write. Her progress was astonishing.

Nationwide Fame

The owner of the Perkins Institution for the Blind Michael Anagnos was keen to promote Helen. This led to a wave of publicity about Helen as she was often photographed reading Shakespeare. She even met the president of USA at this time! She even learned how to speak plus by using her fingers over a person's mouth even learned how to 'hear' other people.

Despite her challenges she adapted and never let her physical disability impair her life. She used the full potential of her mind and talents to achieve great things in life.

Achievements

Now being able to communicate, nothing was going to stop Helen Keller now! She was the first deafblind person to acquire a Bachelor of Arts degree. She published a number of essays on politics, and really broke though with the book "Out of the Dark". After this Helen's already huge public image became worldwide. Her and Anne toured the world giving lectures, Anne was quite literally a translator for Helen and the crowd.

For the remainder of her life Helen was involved in many disciplines, she wrote (over 20 books), she appeared in a movie, she campaigned (famously for Women's suffrage) and was a fantastic fundraiser for many causes, and she constantly inspired especially deaf and blind people.

She retired from the public eye in 1961 following a stroke, but she still fundraising despite her fragile health. The then president Johnson awarded her Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964.

Legacy

Helen passed away in 1968. Her legacy lives on with the Helen Keller Services for the Blind which helps blind people to be independent.

There is currently a bronze statue of Helen at the in the United States Capitol Visitor Center. This depicts Keller standing at a water pump, the point which changed her life forever. At the base of the statue is the quotation (in Braille)

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart."

She is also famous for a number of inspiring self confidence quotes such as: "One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar."


References:



[http://www.helenkelleronline.com Helen Keller pictures]

[http://www.helenkelleronline.com helen keller quotes]

[http://www.helenkelleronline.com helen keller timeline]