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Sarah's Scribblings
Glimpses into Everyday Life and My Mind
Created on 2005-01-10 22:52:06 (#5722017), last updated 2009-11-09
5,839 comments received, 7,470 comments posted
Permanent Account
2,814 Journal Entries, 0 Tags, 772 Memories, 1 Virtual Gift, 2 Userpics
Basic Info| Name: | Sarah J. Blake |
|---|---|
| Birthdate: | 1972-05-24 |
| Location: | Anderson, Indiana, United States |
| Website: | Growing Strong |
Contact:
sjblake@growingstrong.org BioThis journal began in early 2005 as an attempt to chronicle my experiences as a person with disabilities. It has broadened into a chronicle of daily life and my views on all variety of topics. I have imported selected entries from past years of journaling in an attempt to provide a glimpse into what it is like to live with my disabilities since that was my original goal. I think that this also gives a bit of perspective on how and why some of my views have developed. I am currently an M.Div. student at Anderson University in Anderson, IN; and a fair number of my entries currently are about life as a seminary student. I use both public and friends-locked entries--there are plenty of things I am comfortable sharing openly and others that I need to share with people I know something about.
I have been blind all my life due to complications of premature birth and have had a number of surgeries to preserve a small amount of vision in one eye. I have a mild low-frequency hearing loss; migraines and symptoms which resemble complex partial seizures, both of which are mostly controlled with Topamax; sleep apnea; was recently diagnosed with spondyloarthritis which also affects my peripheral joints; and have undergone treatment for problems with my nose and sinuses which have contributed to chronic respiratory infections. I have been in therapy for many years due to psychological distress--in large part due to the impact of life with disabilities which were often unrecognized as significant. I spent much of my life believing that I was "normal, just blind." I hope that what I write here will help other people to feel less alone and to have a more accurate understanding of what it is like to live with disabillities.
My faith is deeply important to me, and it colors my experience and is also something that I write a lot about. I write about it both for my own personal benefit and so that people who read my journal will have a better understanding of the perspective that I bring to my experiences.
If you would like to friend me, please feel free. If you have public entries or a strong bio, I'll likely add you back if I can determine that we have something in common. It's very rare for me not to friend someone; and if I haven't friended you for some time it's probably because I missed the notification in my client that you added me. If so, please feel free to comment to me and ask me to take a peek and add you back. I don't use the LJ messaging feature; so if you would like to contact me outside LJ, please use my email address.
I have been blind all my life due to complications of premature birth and have had a number of surgeries to preserve a small amount of vision in one eye. I have a mild low-frequency hearing loss; migraines and symptoms which resemble complex partial seizures, both of which are mostly controlled with Topamax; sleep apnea; was recently diagnosed with spondyloarthritis which also affects my peripheral joints; and have undergone treatment for problems with my nose and sinuses which have contributed to chronic respiratory infections. I have been in therapy for many years due to psychological distress--in large part due to the impact of life with disabilities which were often unrecognized as significant. I spent much of my life believing that I was "normal, just blind." I hope that what I write here will help other people to feel less alone and to have a more accurate understanding of what it is like to live with disabillities.
My faith is deeply important to me, and it colors my experience and is also something that I write a lot about. I write about it both for my own personal benefit and so that people who read my journal will have a better understanding of the perspective that I bring to my experiences.
If you would like to friend me, please feel free. If you have public entries or a strong bio, I'll likely add you back if I can determine that we have something in common. It's very rare for me not to friend someone; and if I haven't friended you for some time it's probably because I missed the notification in my client that you added me. If so, please feel free to comment to me and ask me to take a peek and add you back. I don't use the LJ messaging feature; so if you would like to contact me outside LJ, please use my email address.
ConnectInterests (150):
adoption, american history, americans with disabilities act, anagrams, aromatherapy, aspirin sensitivity, assistance animals, assistive technology, asthma, audio files, beth moore, bible study, biblical greek, biblical hebrew, blindness, burritos, casseroles, cats, child care, chinese food, chocolate, choral music, christian music, christianity, church history, church of god, coffee, constructive theology, cooking, counseling, creative writing, cupcakes, dbt, deep thinking, deitrich bonhoeffer, depression, developmental disabilities, dialectical behavior therapy, disabilities, disability ministry, disability rights, disaster preparedness, dissociation, distress tolerance, doctoral study, dog guides, education, emotion regulation, emotional intelligence, epilepsy, essential oils, faith, freelance writing, french language, genealogy, glaucoma, guide dogs, healing, healing ministry, henri nouwen, holy spirit, homeschooling, html, hurricanes, identity, independent living, independent musicians, inner child, inspirational books, israel, jim wallace, journaling, kay arthur, liberation theology, literacy, loneliness, lord of the rings, lotion, low vision, madeleine l'engle, mbti, melody beattie, mental health, mental illness, mentoring, messiah, migraine, miracles, mood disorders, muffins, music ministry, music production, myers-briggs type indicator, neurobiology, neuropsychology, nonfiction books, nutrition, orientation & mobility, personality, personality disorders, philip yancey, phyllis a. whitney, post-traumatic stress disorder, prayer, preaching, premature birth, pro-life, psychology, psychopathology, psychotherapy, puns, reading, rehabilitation, relationships, retinopathy of prematurity, riddles, salicylate sensitivity, scrabble, seeing eye dogs, seizure disorders, self concept, self help, self-employment, self-esteem, seminary, singing, slow cookers, soap-making, songwriting, soups and stews, spanish language, special education, spondyloarthritis, stanley grenz, star trek tng, star trek voyager, strategy games, suicide prevention, support groups, taize community, teaching sunday school, temperament, the purpose driven life, theology, tornadoes, twila paris, vision loss, visually impaired, worship, writing
Schools:
Parkview Intermediate - Pasadena, TX (1983 - 1986)Sam Rayburn High School - Pasadena, TX (1986 - 1990)
Anderson University - Anderson, IN (1990 - 1992)
Stephen F. Austin State University - Nacogdoches, TX (1992 - 1999)
Friends [View Entries] Friends (149):
3kitties, ____hejira, ___delilah___, __kara, acorna_cat, aglarendis, aldoryn, aleja, alexisdog, amor_demi_alma, amyb0223, anastoff, anglwings303, astridwithin, aurora_nebulosa, awallens, baxaphobia, bioinstructor, bjscrowd, bookel, braillereader, brighid0704, brightflashes, browneegirl, calledisrael, carmellasquest, celestialxrose, cetcetera, chickenwegs1021, chickwith_stick, chocolab, cindynmuttnaz, circleofquiet1, clement2922, colored_leaves, corrieco, courageousheart, cozyjeans, crypticgirl, dahlia_and_balu, darksword10, datajana2007, deeperhealing, diannaamarich, dim_stars, dungeonwriter, duponthumanite, editingsarah, faylen, faylensprayer, florida_phoenix, francisb, goldador2002, grace_is_real, grannygrump42, guidedogjourney, gypsymommy, havencor, healingtears, hickory1996, hurricaneamy, iliana_sedai, imafarmgirl, irradescent, itiya, jenandbronze, jennylin, katia_chan, katiaanya, kb5elv, kerrisayshi, kindletheflame, kittieskorner, kl1964, kl1964_dogblog, kl1964unplugged, kolbygarrison, latinanewschic, lauren_kh, laurliz1186, leadinglabbie, lilsinger_95, lisasali, lizw, lookinglassself, lorifran57, lovable_leo, lsu_tiger_81, lynnskyi, lyssas_song, miffis, mikhail_tal, mintjulepprncs, miraclemoments, momof3bbp, nabba, ne_jyam, nevermind_it, nightdrake, oncall_24_7, orianaoracle, orpheus42, otc_experience, pickleboot, pixar_nation, powerimortal, preemieexpermnt, puppybraille, quicksilver555, quirkofonic, rachel720, rainykelly, rdfreak, read2781, reborn_spirit, refined_mirages, rnb_capricorn, rotynd, sarahkatherina, scarlettflower, schmedgar, shazza59, silence1986, silly_singer, simonica, sjbtheology, sk8eeyore, snowdaysroq, so_brilliant, solideogloria, solstice_singer, sophiahagia, sophiedoph, stop_whispering, summer_dolphin, susiev, sweet_music8, synonym4shedog, thewordisalive, thumpers_journe, tina_e, turtlechelle, unsilenceddream, watersaredeep, westerndreams, xjenavivex, xlame, yummykit, zeldakitty
Mutual Friends (135):
3kitties, ____hejira, ___delilah___, __kara, acorna_cat, aglarendis, aldoryn, alexisdog, amyb0223, anastoff, astridwithin, aurora_nebulosa, awallens, baxaphobia, bioinstructor, bjscrowd, bookel, braillereader, brighid0704, brightflashes, browneegirl, calledisrael, carmellasquest, celestialxrose, chickwith_stick, chocolab, cindynmuttnaz, clement2922, colored_leaves, corrieco, courageousheart, cozyjeans, crypticgirl, dahlia_and_balu, darksword10, datajana2007, deeperhealing, diannaamarich, dim_stars, dungeonwriter, duponthumanite, editingsarah, faylen, faylensprayer, florida_phoenix, francisb, goldador2002, grace_is_real, gypsymommy, havencor, healingtears, hickory1996, hurricaneamy, imafarmgirl, irradescent, itiya, jenandbronze, jennylin, katia_chan, katiaanya, kb5elv, kerrisayshi, kindletheflame, kl1964, kl1964_dogblog, kl1964unplugged, kolbygarrison, latinanewschic, lauren_kh, leadinglabbie, lilsinger_95, lisasali, lizw, lorifran57, lovable_leo, lsu_tiger_81, lynnskyi, lyssas_song, miffis, mikhail_tal, mintjulepprncs, miraclemoments, momof3bbp, nabba, ne_jyam, nevermind_it, nightdrake, oncall_24_7, orianaoracle, orpheus42, otc_experience, pickleboot, pixar_nation, powerimortal, preemieexpermnt, puppybraille, quicksilver555, quirkofonic, rachel720, rainykelly, rdfreak, read2781, refined_mirages, rnb_capricorn, rotynd, sarahkatherina, scarlettflower, schmedgar, shazza59, silence1986, silly_singer, simonica, sjbtheology, sk8eeyore, snowdaysroq, so_brilliant, solideogloria, solstice_singer, sophiahagia, sophiedoph, stop_whispering, summer_dolphin, susiev, sweet_music8, synonym4shedog, thewordisalive, tina_e, turtlechelle, unsilenceddream, watersaredeep, westerndreams, xjenavivex, xlame, yummykit, zeldakitty
Communities [View Entries] Watching (24):
alexisfriends, alphaquad2005, andersonu, aromatherapy, bionic_people, blindpeople, christiancare, christianwomen, deathtopred, disabled_grad, disabled_study, epileptics, escential, gimpgirl, inspiteofpain, lj_maintenance, louisville2008, migraines, no_pity, nonepileptic, paidmembers, religion_majors, scanning2read, seizuredisorder
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