Keep Fighting
“Never Resist A Challenge” - Jordan
Jordan was born blind to a family with Puerto Rican heritage in the Bronx, New York. He has twelve siblings. His parents are divorced. His father was an alcoholic and during the transitions that divorce brings he and the other siblings ended up in foster care for a period. This led to multiple moves even to another state. With all the transition and the hardship that came with it, Jordan did not receive the support he so desperately needed to learn to live independently. His parents were busy working and trying to provide for the family. Thankfully a couple of his brothers and sisters taught him to cook and care for himself. His siblings were his closest friends. He did not have friends at school. Children didn’t know how to relate to him. He dealt with the pain from his family dynamics and rejection from his peers with zoning out playing video games. During this difficult season depression set in. Video games were a safe haven, a way to tune out reality. To this day he loves to play video games but realized years ago that there is more to life. He wants to be a productive citizen who doesn’t zone out from reality but lives a life of purpose and meaning.
Jordan had some teachers in school that became like father figures, cared about him, and pointed him in the right direction. They pushed him as they walked with him through life’s ups and downs and the lessons he learned. They taught him how to handle things he faced as a blind person and as someone carrying around a lot of pain. Jordan says that the divorce, moving multiple times, foster care, being blind and the struggle with depression challenged him rather than discouraged him to give up. It helped encourage him to explore and figure things out for himself.
Without support at home, he says he had to fight for assistance at public school. He was his own advocate. Through the years he continued to fight for things like a school diploma. Public school gave him an IEP (Individual Education Program) diploma for students with significant disabilities in recognition of their achievements but Jordan wanted a school diploma just like the other kids so he fought to get one. He worked hard to get all the credits he needed to earn his diploma in a year. What would have normally taken 3 years to earn he was able to do it in one. The fight to accomplish his goals required hard work but was worth every bit to Jordan.
Jordan has a strong work ethic that came from his dad. Jordan would go to work with him sometimes and from that experience he learned what it was to earn a dollar and save for what he wants. His dad worked hard for what he got and taught Jordan that he can’t just have video games handed to him work and save up for them. He has continued to have that outlook of hard work as he has navigated adulthood trying to find a career that he could do being blind.
Jordan is a people person who loves life. He knows life is going to serve up challenges, but he faces every challenge as an opportunity to rise to the occasion and fight for himself and others to succeed in what they put their mind to. Jordan says some of his personal goals are to get out of his comfort zone more, get out of his own head and never resist a challenge.
With the hard work ethic his dad instilled in him Jordan has never been satisfied where he is. He has wanted to do more with his life and sees World Services for the Blind as a way to help him do just that. He is currently enrolled in our customer service call center training program and loves it. Being such a people person, this is right up his alley. What excites him about WSB is that it is he is receiving much more than just technical training. He is learning and growing personally as well. He met a lady that has become a very special person in his life. He started to go back to church. He has experienced restoration with his siblings and father. He gives credit for the life changes he has experienced while being at WSB to the two instructors who have pushed him to be the best version of himself and our social worker along with the two interns in that department who have helped him to continue to grow and heal. The sky is the limit for Jordan and he is up for the challenge!