American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults
Future Reflections Winter 2022 GROWING UP
Feeling Pretty
by Brittany Savage
From the Editor: Brittany Savage lives in Littleton, Colorado, where she is a full-time nanny for two six-year-old boys. She also works as a part-time consultant with Mary Kay Cosmetics. In this article she recounts her journey to independence and explains how the use of makeup became part of her life.
When I was seven years old, I was diagnosed with a form of RP (retinitis pigmentosa) that includes cone-rod dystrophy. My family lived in a tiny town in rural Virginia, where I was the only blind student within five school districts. My mother was a special education teacher, so she knew the ins and outs of the school system. Even with that advantage, though, it was very hard for me to get the services I needed. For a while, I had a classroom aide who read me the material the teacher put on the board. A TVI (teacher of the visually impaired) came to see me once a month. I simply wasn't learning the blindness skills I needed in order to succeed at school.
In 2003, when I was in seventh grade, my family enrolled me at the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind (VSDB) in Staunton, Virginia. Finally, I got the Braille and cane travel I badly needed. For the first time, I experienced a classroom where everything was fully accessible. VSDB had more Braille books than I had seen in my entire life, and my O&M instructors were outstanding. I even had the chance to work at the Dixie Movie Theater and the local Shakespeare Theater through the school's job studies program.
However, attending a residential school definitely had its downsides. The town of Staunton was very pedestrian friendly, but in order to go off campus, students had to earn a pass by getting good grades and performing chores. As students, we didn't have the freedom that was available to typical teens living at home with their families. Furthermore, we were cut off from a lot of the teen culture that surrounded our sighted peers. One thing I never learned at VSDB was how to apply makeup.
After I graduated from VSDB, I attended a community college in Virginia. Eventually, I returned home to my small town, where I was constantly frustrated by the lack of transportation. I had nowhere to use the independent travel skills I had learned at VSDB.
I'd been at home for about two years when a friend told me that the Colorado Center for the Blind (CCB) was hiring counselors to work with blind children at a summer program. I was hired as a counselor, and I went to Littleton, Colorado, in the summer of 2014.
My experience at the CCB transformed my life. Before the kids arrived all of the counselors went through two weeks of training under learning shades. We traveled all over the Denver area using the light rail system. At first I was very scared of being on my own without a sighted person to help me. I realized I needed more intensive training so I could become truly independent.
When the summer program was over, I entered the adult training program at the CCB. I mastered the skills I needed—Braille, technology, and cane travel—and felt a level of confidence I had never known before. But when I went home to Virginia, I was more frustrated than ever by the lack of transportation in my small town.
I worked as a counselor at the CCB for the next two summers, but I desperately needed a full-time job.
Finally. I made up my mind to find work in the Denver area, come what may. Without any job prospects, I packed up and moved to Colorado. I worked at the CCB'S summer youth program again, but this time I was determined to stay on.
Hunting for a job was discouraging at best. After months of sending out résumés and knocking on doors, my spirits sagged. Then, when I was ready to give up and retreat back to Virginia, one of the CCB staff members asked me if I would like to work as a live-in nanny for her five-month-old son. I jumped at the chance! I also found a part-time job with a company called True Independence. I transcribe restaurant menus and other materials into Braille.
Two years ago I took part in a marathon called the Six-Dot Dash that was hosted by the CCB. A number of vendors signed up, and I met a rep from Mary Kay Cosmetics. With a little encouragement I signed up for what Mary Kay calls "a pampering session."
Never before had anyone taught me how to apply makeup or explained what makeup could do for me. In that first session I learned so much that I wanted to go farther. I signed up to train as a Mary Kay consultant.
Through the training I learned more than I ever could have imagined about skin care. I learned which colors go together and which work best for people with different complexions and hair colors. My instructors were very creative in their approach to teaching. Together we figured out ways for me to understand color combinations and to apply makeup by touch.
Kids usually learn about makeup as preteens from their mothers and their friends. I learned when I was almost thirty years old, and I was thrilled! I became more conscious of my appearance than I ever had been before. When I started wearing makeup, I also developed an interest in fashion. I began to pay closer attention to my wardrobe. When I knew I looked my best, I began to feel better about myself.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Mary Kay consultants began to host virtual makeup sessions. I started by tag-teaming with my director. Sometimes I used Aira to check color combinations and other visual aspects of my work. (Aira is a service that allows a sighted assistant to provide visual information to a blind person by using the camera of a smartphone.) I work with some blind clients, but most of my clients are sighted.
I feel it's important for parents of blind children to let them try using makeup. Parents have a tendency to apply makeup for the child, but the child needs to learn by doing. Explain how the makeup should be applied. If it isn't done right the first time, try not to get frustrated. Kids do best when they can learn at their own pace in an environment where they feel emotionally safe. We all learn new skills by trial and error, and applying makeup is no exception.
YouTube is a great resource for instruction on applying makeup. If you visit Mary Kay Cosmetics on YouTube, you will find lots of videos with excellent verbal instruction.
Please feel free to contact me at 804-832-5439 or [email protected]. I would love to hear from you.