“Once I knew only
darkness and stillness... my life was without past or future... but a little
word from the fingers of another fell into my hand that clutched at emptiness,
and my heart leaped to the rapture of living.” – Helen Keller
The actions of another, Anne Sullivan, opened up the world
to Helen Keller. The patience and kindness of another gave Helen an
entire world of sensations and gave us a wonderful author, political activist,
and lecturer. She has always been an inspiration to me when I believe I
have obstacles too severe to overcome. Where Helen Keller started from
was encased in barriers to prevent her from living a full and extraordinary
life. My obstacles are generally far less daunting and a simple
“self-kick” in the ass will get me moving.
However, it is very important to remember, that another with
a simple act of teaching and kindness, created a ripple effect. Anne
Sullivan, whose own life was full of obstacles to overcome, helped to give us a
human treasure that continues to inspire and push others to be more. To
be a better human. I believe I would be worse for the absence of the
Helen Keller we know about and therefore thankful that the universe conspired
to bring together Helen and Anne.
The purpose of this piece, I hope, is to convey to you your
importance as an example, a teacher, a friend, a loved one. You can make
all the difference in the world, either positive or negative. That is up
to you.
A brief Wikipedia history on
Helen Keller:
Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 –
June 1, 1968) was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was
the first deaf-blind person to earn a bachelor of arts degree. The story of how
Keller's teacher, Anne Sullivan, broke through the isolation imposed by a near
complete lack of language, allowing the Helen as a girl to blossom as she
learned to communicate, has become widely known through the dramatic depictions
of the play and film The Miracle Worker. Her birthplace in West Tuscumbia,
Alabama, is now a museum and sponsors an annual "Helen Keller Day".
Her birthday on June 27 is commemorated as Helen Keller Day in the U.S. state
of Pennsylvania and was authorized at the federal level by presidential
proclamation by President Jimmy Carter in 1980, the 100th anniversary of her
birth.
A prolific author, Keller was
well-traveled and outspoken in her convictions. A member of the Socialist Party
of America and the Industrial Workers of the World, she campaigned for women's
suffrage, labor rights, socialism, antimilitarism, and other similar causes.
She was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame in 1971 and was one of
twelve inaugural inductees to the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame on June 8, 2015.
Helen proved to the world that deaf people could all learn to communicate and
that they could survive in the hearing world. She also taught that deaf people
are capable of doing things that hearing people can do. She is one of the most
famous deaf people in history and she is an idol to many deaf people in the
world.
A brief Wikipedia history on
Anne Sullivan:
Johanna Mansfield Sullivan Macy,
better known as Anne Sullivan, was an American teacher, best known for being
the instructor and lifelong companion of Helen Keller. At the age of five, she
contracted trachoma, a highly contagious eye disease, which left her blind and
without reading or writing skills. She received her education as a student of
the Perkins School for the Blind where upon graduation she became a teacher to
Keller when she was 20.
Sullivan was born on April 14,
1866, in Feeding Hills, Agawam, Massachusetts. According to her baptismal
certificate, her name at birth was Johanna Mansfield Sullivan; however, she was
called Anne or Annie from birth. She was the oldest child of Thomas and Alice
(Cloesy) Sullivan. Her parents were illiterate, unskilled, and impoverished immigrants
who came to the United States from County Limerick, Ireland, during the Great
Famine. When she was only five years old she contracted a bacterial eye disease
known as trachoma, which created painful infections and over time made her
nearly blind. When she was eight, her mother died and her father abandoned the
children two years later for fear he could not raise them on his own. She and
her younger brother, James ("Jimmie"), were sent to an overcrowded
almshouse in Tewksbury, Massachusetts (today part of Tewksbury Hospital).
Jimmie suffered from a weak hip ailment and died two to three months into their
stay. Sullivan remained at the Tewksbury house for four years after his death,
where she had eye operations that offered some short-term relief for her eye
pain but ultimately proved ineffective.
Sullivan lost her sight at a young
age and therefore had no skills in reading, writing, or sewing and the only
work she could find was as a housemaid; however, this position was
unsuccessful. Another blind resident staying at the Tewksbury almshouse told
her of schools for the blind. During an 1880 inspection of the almshouse, she
convinced inspector Franklin Benjamin Sanborn to allow her to leave and enroll
in the Perkins School for the Blind in Boston, where she began her studies on
October 7, 1880. Although her rough manners made her first years at Perkins
humiliating for her, she managed to connect with a few teachers and made
progress with her learning. While there, she befriended and learned the manual
alphabet from Laura Bridgman, a graduate of Perkins and the first blind and
deaf person to be educated there. Also, while there, she had a series of eye
operations that significantly improved her vision. In June 1886, she graduated
at age 20 as the valedictorian of her class. She stated,
"Fellow-graduates: duty bids us go forth into active life. Let us go
cheerfully, hopefully, and earnestly, and set ourselves to find our especial
part. When we have found it, willingly and faithfully perform it."
The summer following Sullivan's
graduation, the director of the Perkins Institution, Michael Anagnos, was
contacted by Arthur Keller, who was in search of a teacher for his 7-year-old
blind and deaf daughter, Helen. Anagnos immediately recommended Sullivan for
this position and she began her work on March 3, 1887 at the Kellers' home in
Tuscumbia, Alabama. As soon as she arrived there, she argued with Helen's
parents about the Civil War and over the fact that they used to own slaves.
However, she also quickly connected with Helen. It was the beginning of a
49-year relationship: Sullivan evolved from teacher to governess and finally to
companion and friend.
I hope you enjoyed!
Namaste,
