This week, my friend Janis sent me a video to watch. FYI, one of my favourite things to do is watch videos on YouTube. I do it faithfully as if it’s my job – it’s like I’m working toward a YouTube degree! In any case, back to Janis. She worked with us until she left to go to Accessible Media Inc., a not-for-profit company that offers two broadcast services — AMI-audio and AMI-TV — to more than five million Canadians who are blind, deaf, or visually, hearing or mobility impaired, learning disabled, print-restricted or learning English as a second language. They are trying hard to raise awareness – and doing it in fresh, innovative ways that suck me in. Like this video that offers us a window into Jeff’s daily life. [HTML1] Jeff is blind and I can’t imagine what it would be like to be blind. And so watching this video gives me info and answers to questions like How does a person who is blind know it’s safe to cross the street? Do you have visual dreams? How do you know when to turn a corner when you walk down a hallway? It’s not something I would ask, especially since I don't personally know anyone who isn’t fully sighted. I get awkward around people who aren’t fully sighted. I never know if I should ask if they need help or just help them. Most times, I run through scenarios in my head and do nothing because I don't know what to do. And so, being able to walk through daily activities with Jeff, with him explaining things gives me information so I can better understand what it's like to walk in his shoes. And then I started to think, that’s really the key: information. And that’s why it's important to support companies like Accessible Media Inc. It goes both ways – they try to raise awareness, and to bring what the rest of the world has access to to people who don’t. Like descriptive video during the London 2012 Paralympic Games. The team working on this has been preparing for the Games since January! And so, the things I learned from this post? 1. Jeff leads a life pretty similar to mine. 2. Both of our everyday lives are inspiring. 3. The Olympics are inspiring. 4. It’s inspiring that people are working hard to make descriptilve video happen during the London 2012 Paralympic Games so we can all enjoy them. 5. And the most amazing thing I learned? Information is inspiration. I know, it sounds like an ad. But it’s the truth. How about you? What’s inspiring you?