Helen Keller by Jennifer G.

Everyone has faced adversity at one point in their life. Many people overcome those big challenges while many didn’t. A lot of us use those hard challenges to move forward and become stronger. One person was Hellen Keller since she over came discrimination due to her loss of sight and hearing at a young age. She is being recognized for being the strong woman she was.

To begin with, when Hellen Keller lost both her sight and hearing when she was just 19 months old. According to https://www.biography.com/activist/helen-keller in 1882, she contracted an illness-called “brain fever” detected by the family doctor. Keller’s mother noticed that she showed no reaction to the dinner bell when it was rung or a hand being waved in front of her. As Keller grew, she developed a limited method of communication. By the time Keller was 7 she knew over 60 different signs she and her companion invented. Keller was very wild and unruly. Many relatives thought she should’ve been institutionalized. But she fought through.

Secondly, Keller wanted to be heard so she began speech classes at Horace Mann School for the deaf. In https://metropolitangirls.com/helen-keller-biography/ she would practice talking for 25 years so that others understood her. She worked hard on her communication skills. Around that time, she was determined to attend college. She attended the Cambridge school for young ladies. As her story became known, Keller met famous and influential people, one being writer Mark Twain. He introduced her to his friend, and they were so impressed by her personality and strength that they let her in Radcliffe college. She successfully graduated, something that not everyone expected back when she was young, wild, and uneducable. 

In addition, Hellen Keller became a well-known author. Between 1909 and 1921, she wrote several articles about socialism. Her series of essays on socialism, entitled “Out of the Dark” described her views on socialism and world affairs. Keller became a celebrity and lecturer by sharing her experiences. She helped ring the America Civil Liberties Union. Keller participated in many campaigns to raise awareness, money and support for the blind and deaf. Hellen Keller brought inspiration to others. She showed people the path, that if she could succeed, so can they.

To end these thoughts, Hellen Keller overcame many adversities, like losing both her sight and hearing. She didn’t let that stop her from becoming the woman she is. She was strong and smart. Keller was a very brave woman who didn’t give up easily. Hellen Keller peacefully died at the age of 87 on June 1, 1968.