By Michelle Ramaiah
Recently graduated with a degree in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) from UM, Toh Wooi Seong enjoys the same things as others his age: music, socializing and psychology. The one aspect that makes this 23-year-old different is that he was born blind and no surgery can fix it. Despite his disability, this guy from Bayan Lepas, Penang, never gives up and lives a pretty normal life.
Even though he was born blind, he had a normal childhood and doesn't feel that he missed anything in life because he has a great family. Seong is the second of four siblings in a home with loving and supportive parents. His parents, being shopkeepers and coming from a moderate family, are still finding ways for Seong to get his eyesight back. However, Seong knows that surgery will not heal his eyes therefore doesn't want to undergo any surgery. He has learnt to accept his condition.
His Childhood
. “I felt very sad when I knew that I was fully blind when I overheard my parents telling my teacher when I entered school.” said Seong. When he was a young child, children his age would be afraid of him and refuse to play with him but only his older sister would always spend time with him and look after him. He knew that it was not fun playing with him because he always gets angry and grumpy fast. “Even at school I was not a likeable student though my academic performance was good. I am a bit different from other Chinese students. I preferred languages compared to mathematics.” He developed a love for languages. “Words and languages are my favourite and I usually ask what the words mean from people who mention any unknown words to me and I make sure I remember it,” added Seong.
Sweet Memories
There were also many sweet memories during high school for Seong. In year 2000 he took part in a poem recitation and got third place. His poem was entitled 'Last Lesson of the afternoon by D.H. Lawrence’ and the best part was it was the very first time he won something for that school because it is Malay Language medium school and does not usually take part in this kind of competition. The school was very proud of him. Besides that, he also participated in a Braille reading competition where the pronunciation, intonation and fluency were emphasized. He had won a few competitions at the national level which made him improve in the language, especially the pronunciation.
He loves the English and Malay language and improves on them by listening to the radio and movies. He also loves trying new things. For example, in Form Five, he took a subject which non-Muslim students rarely or wouldn't take and that is Tassawur Islam in which he got an A. The media even interviewed him on his success.
While in University
After graduating from high school, Seong applied to University Malaya for a course called TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) and he was offered that course. He began working towards obtaining an education degree to fulfill his dream career: teaching. Seong's parents had no difficulty letting go of their son so he could live the normal University life in the dorms. He said they knew he had the academic ability and wanted him to achieve his dreams. Getting around campus can get quite puzzling for the visually impaired and Seong admits that he would be confused at times, especially around The Multipurpose Hall of the Za'ba College, because of the different walkways near that particular building. When he first arrived at college, there were some seniors who escorted him around. He says he did pretty well. Moreover, the university has made great improvements and provides good facilities for the disabled students.
Seong got through his classes using a machine called "Braille 'N Speak." It's a computer with Braille symbols so Seong is able to type notes during class. When his lecturers pass around handouts, he would scan them into a special computer in the library and it would read the text back to him. “I am glad that that I have some friends and students who volunteer to read and help me." One of the challenges he faced was to read the textbooks because not all textbooks are interactive. Visually impaired students have to scan their books in order to read them. Seong’s laptop computer is equipped with a software that reads the text under his cursor as well as the screen events and notifications. In addition, he navigates the Internet with ease. “I learned to use the computer the same as anyone else and improve it by using it almost everyday.” said Seong. People may think Seong is incapable of lot of things because he is blind but they are wrong. He enjoyed socializing, watching movies and listening to all kinds of music, He even loved to hang around with his friends and his family and made sure he kept himself updated with current issues. One impressive skill that Seong has is his photographic memory that is the ability to mentally visualize and then recall it in precise detail. For example, he remembered a classmate well just by hearing her voice and name. He only took one course with her but he could give a detailed description of her such as how active she was in class and the grade she got.
Recently, he had completed a semester of teaching practice, which is a requirement of all TESL students, at SMK Perempuan Taman Petaling where he taught Form 1 and 2 . He said that he has gain a lot experience by teaching in a normal school. It was very challenging but he coped. He learned a lot from teaching a noisy bunch of 40 students.
Unlike most normal students, his goals in life are to be happy and to make more friends. He also wishes to further his studies abroad and later contribute to the country by teaching, preferably teaching tuition. When asked if he would give it a try if there’s a possibility for a surgery to repair his eyesight, Seong gave a much unexpected response - he would refuse it. "What would it gain back?" He asked. I am used to it and I don't think anyone visually impaired would." He explained that the visually impaired grow up learning how to survive without the ability to see, and therefore it would be a challenge to re-learn everything. "I've accepted that I'm blind," he said. "There's no way I'd change my life."
His advice to us life is short so develop our potentials and not waste it. Life is more than drug addiction, being 'rempit’ and social illnesses. There also should not be prejudice toward the disabled. He urges us all to value every moment in our lives because we are born to live. Don't live because we are born. Be adventurous whoever you are.
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