Blogger Interview – Amanda Gene

This is a new type of post for me – an interview exchange with another blogger! Amanda Gene came to me with the idea, having interviewed some other bloggers already, and I was of course very flattered and happy to take part! Amanda has already published her interview with me, so do go and check that out too.

I’d love to do more posts like this too. I think it’s a really nice way to learn about other people, for the same reason that tag posts are so enjoyable. Plus it’s very important to support and promote each other in the blogging community, especially as disabled bloggers get overlooked somewhat (which is why I’ve created lists of bloggers who post about sight loss, disability, London & entertainment). So if anybody wants to do an exchange of Q&As like this, feel free to contact me.

Anyway, here is the interview I did with Amanda. I hope you enjoy it. Do give her a follow if you can, all of her social links are at the end of the post. Thank you so much to Amanda for featuring me on her blog and for answering my questions here as well! She gives great advice on blogging and interacting with disabled people, and it’s really interesting to get an insight into her disability and the things she enjoys.

Welcome Amanda! Tell us a bit about yourself.

Hi everyone, my name is Amanda Gene, I’m 30 years old, and I am currently blogging, starting my own YouTube channel and writing to two amazing charities.

Who or what inspired you to start blogging?

I actually started blogging as part of a college course and ever since I started blogging I can not stop.

What is your blog about?

My blog is about being visually impaired and other disabilities. I also do some day in the life blog posts.

What is your favourite or most popular blog post that you’ve written so far?

My favorite blog is probably the series I’m writing now. I’m currently writing about what I’m learning at the independent living center for people who are visually impaired.

What one piece of advice would you give to people who want to try blogging?

Keep blogging and do not stop. You will get to your goals.

What other hobbies and interests do you have?

I love to watch Netflix, read, spend time with my friends and family.

Do you have any favourite music, TV shows or films?

I love all different types of music and really do not have a favorite. I really can not watch TV due to my visual impairment, but I love to go to the movies when I can. The bigger screen makes it easier for me to follow along with the plot.

Do you like reading books?

I am part of a book club and I enjoy reading books by Patrick Taylor who writes Irish doctor novels.

What is your favourite place that you’ve visited?

My favorite place that I visited so far was Pennsylvania. I loved the mountains and fresh air.

Where would you most like to visit?

I would love to travel the world and visit places like Scotland, England and India one day.

What is your favourite food?

I love hamburgers, chicken and anything sweet.

Which celebrity would you most like to meet and talk to?

If I could talk to any person I would say one of the great writers of our time, Mark Twain.

What is your biggest achievement so far?

For me I would say graduating from college. The doctors told my mom after I was born that I would have a hard life and probably would not attend college.

What is your disability and what effect does it have on your daily life? Do you use any assistive technology?

I have Nystagmus and night blindness. As far as daily life goes I can not drive and have to use public transportation. I use a cane for when I travel at night or if its sunny outside.

I use a screen reader and a text to speech program called Kurzweil 3000 to help me edit documents and read books. I also have a talking book player and bookshare.org to access my books.

I have Dyslexia and have to take things slow when I am writing to try to catch my mistakes. I can use my text to speech reader to help me edit documents.

I have Cerebral Palsy, and I sometimes use a grip aid to open jars.

What are the biggest misconceptions or common questions that people have about your disability?

I get the question, “You can not be visually impaired, you have glasses. Can you not get surgery to fix it?”

What one piece of advice would you give to others about interacting with visually impaired or disabled people?

Do not be scared of us. Just because we look different or use daily living aids does not mean that we need to be treated any differently. We have talents, skills, likes and dislikes just like any other person.

Social Media Links

You can (and should!) follow Amanda on her blog, Twitter, Facebook & Instagram.

Thank you again to Amanda for inviting me to do my first ever interview exchange, it was very interesting and worthwhile. And again, if anybody else wants to do something like this with me, let me know! 🙂