A few days ago, I went to a teacher appreciation event at a local chiropractic office.  I had some really great conversations while I was there, one being with a doctor that works there.  She seemed to be fascinated by the topic of aphantasia, as she had never heard of it.  

I'm very passionate about gaining more knowledge and spreading awareness about aphantasia.  I'm so passionate that I can go on and on about the subject to the point that I wonder how many people see me as "the crazy aphantasia lady".  When I mentioned that concern, the doctor assured me that she didn't feel that way, and that my excitement reminded her of Helen Keller when she discovered how to  after years of isolation in her world of blindness and deafness.

Helen Keller has been my hero since I was in elementary school.  I was always mesmerized by the biographies and autobiography of her life.  To think that someone so intelligent, having so much to give to the world, could have been silenced forever by a disease that she contracted at a very young age, what a terrible thought!  Without the intervention of her teacher, Annie Sullivan, she might never have found her voice.  She might have suffered in silence, if not forever, for much longer.

I remember watching the movie where Patti Duke played a young Helen Keller.  She won an Oscar for that portrayal, by the way.  At the time in the movie where Helen is first able to communicate, there is an air of desperation in her, a deep need to know more, and know it now.  This what the chiropractor I was speaking with saw in me when I talk about aphantasia.

I truly do feel a deep need to learn more about aphantasia, so much so that I can't contain my excitement..  I'm not sure exactly why, but the newfound awareness of a condition I've always had has changed my life.  I feel a stronger sense of purpose than I think I've ever felt.  While discussing aphantasia with a couple of students the other day, one said "Miss, you really do have a fantastic life".  Yes, I do.  My Aphantastic Life!