Story
Molly Burke: Using My Cane Challenge
Challenge: Use your cane for a day of traveling independently!
Looking for a contemporary role model for students who are blind or low vision? Molly Burke is a Canadian YouTube personality and motivation speaker who has more than 2 million subscribers – she is also visually impaired. Molly has retinitis pigmentosa and lost most of her sight at age 14. With her upbeat personality, Molly vlogs about her life which on the surface revolves around fashion and style, but also dives deeper into honest, heart-felt discussions about her life as a blind woman. She uses her voice to be a model for others who are visually impaired and to educate sighted viewers about blindness. Her YouTube playlists includes these topics:
- Molly’s Home Tours
- New Guide Dog Training
- Gallop’s Retirement (previous guide dog)
- Home Renovation
- New Guide Dog
- Self shot Vlogs
- All About Disabilities
- Boyfriend Stuff!
- All About My Kitten!
- Talking Mental Health!
- Around My Home!
- Trying New Foods!
- Travel Videos!
- Collabs with Other YouTubers!
- All About My Hair!
- Being Blind!
- Blind Adventures & Activities!
- Blind Dating
- Blind Girl Makeup Tutorials
- Guide Dog Adventures!
- All about Guide Dogs!
- Honest Fashion Reviews and Hauls
- The 10 Year Journey
- Featuring Molly! (commercials and collabs)
- Blind Girl Story Time
- Follow Me Around!
- Molly’s Music
- Challenges and Tags!
- Ask Molly! (Q&A)
Have a student who is struggling with an issue related to blindness or just interested in what life is like moving out, living independently, getting a guide dog, managing life, travel and adventures? Molly covers it all – in a way that students and young adults can relate to!
Molly loves adventure and travel. She typically travels with her guide dog (learn more through her vlogs about Gallop, her guide dog training and her new guide dog); however, recently, she posted a video, These Are the Places I can Go with Just My Cane! In the video, Molly talks about her recent O&M lessons with a cane in her neighborhood and she challenged herself to travel independently with her cane – without her guide dog or a sighted guide backup. In her video, Molly is standing a street corner waiting to cross the street and the video shows the back of her sweatshirt. This sweatshirt sums it up with the text, “Can’t Stop Me!”
I challenge your student to watch Molly’s video and to take Molly’s challenge. Where can YOU travel – independently – with your cane for a full day!
By Diane Brauner
