Hey guys. It is a Monday afternoon, and today I'm doing a vlog.
I am going to the RNIB Gala Dinner this evening, the Winter Gala, and I wanted to vlog for you.
Because I don't vlog as much as I should, and intend to. But things just get really
busy with me as a postgraduate student, so I don't always get the chance to vlog. Plus
you don't always wanna see me vlogging just sitting on my laptop writing essay plans,
it's quite boring.
But today it's not boring, because this is quite exciting. Because we're going to the
Dorchester Hotel in London, and there's a gala, I'm doing a speech, and we're having
baked alaska for the first time. And by we, I mean my mum, who is getting ready in the
next room, if you can hear her spraying and hair drying noises, and my dad as well,
who is downstairs at the moment.
So I've been putting my makeup on. I haven't put it all on at the moment. I've mainly just
put my actual face makeup on. I was gonna say put my face on, but I thought no, I'm gonna
sound like my nan, because my nan says that - "Put your face on Emily!" But no.
So I've put my face on, and I've put my lips...
I've just said it now! [Laughs] Put my face on, you see what I mean?
I've put my lipstick on. It is the Viva Glam by MAC.
Because I'm using some new things. I'm using one of the Urban Decay... I think they call
them Moonshine shadows, or pigments or something. I'll try and find out and put the name in
the description. And I'm also using an Urban Decay Heavy Metal Liner, and this is the one
called Storm or something like that. Distort maybe, I think it's called,
but it's a pearlescent colour.
As you can see, I have a bit of an obsession with Urban Decay, an unhealthy obsession.
Anyway, I'm gonna go and put this eye makeup on. So next time you see me,
I'll probably have glitter on my eyes.
Ok, this is me with glitter on my eyes, like I said. I don't know if you can see it in
this light. But it's basically grey eyeshadow from the Naked Smoky, with the glitter, the
MAC pearlescent glitter, and the Urban Decay ones on top. Because you don't really get
to wear glitter all the time, so this is nice for an evening.
Here's Uni, she's wearing her collar, her pink collar. Look at that, there we are.
It's from Mrs Bow Tie by the way, if you wanna know.
[Music - Jingle Bells, jazz style]
[Crowd noise in background] [Mum] Are you nervous?
Have you prepared for your speech Emily?
[Female Announcer] Please welcome Emily. [Audience cheers and applauds]
[Emily] Good evening Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Now, I think the 2 most important questions so far is are you enjoying yourself?
[Audience cheers] Yes!
[Emily] Yay! And are you feeling inspired to change some people's lives yet?
[Audience cheers] Yes!
[Emily] Yes? Well, let's hope that my words can ferment that for you.
And I also want to just say that I am really honoured to be here with some amazing people.
Not only the people who are really prolific, but also the people who've dedicated so much
of their time and their effort and their work to supporting RNIB, a really amazing and phenomenal
charity that offers so many support services for people with sight loss.
So I first of all wanna begin by giving you a little anecdote of my childhood. And this
is a sad story, but it's also happy, because it's how I first of all came to know about the RNIB.
So when I was a child, we went to these things called primary schools. You might know them,
they're a fancy word for torture chamber. [Audience laughs]
And when I was at primary school, I had some children come up to me, because they knew I had
a visual impairment, and they said "You're like Mrs Twit aren't you? Because Mrs Twit
had a glass eye. So you must be, because there's something obviously wrong with your peepers.
So clearly you must have a glass eye too."
And I said to my mum "I don't know what these people are on about. I don't know what this
book is." And that's when we started to look for ways that I could read this book.
And then the RNIB came into mind. And we contacted them, and said that we wanted to get some
books from Roald Dahl, one of the most amazing writers ever. And I found out what they meant.
And when I went back to school, I said "Yes, I am like Mrs Twit. And if you don't shut up,
you're gonna find my glass eye in your cup at lunchtime. So shush!
[Audience laughs and applauds]
But now it's time to get into serious business, as I've been told.
So the RNIB is an absolutely amazing charity. When someone is diagnosed with sight loss,
or they come into the world and they've got a visual impairment, it's so easy for them
to be written off as a lost cause, for people to say that they're not going to amount to
anything, for people to judge them on their capabilities, just because of the fact that
they can't see very well. But that needs to change.
And the RNIB have been doing some amazing things to help change that, and to help make
people see that sight loss isn't the end of an era, it's just the beginning of a new chapter.
So RNIB has always been there to support me from a very early age, from the age of around
7 years old when I first discovered what Mrs Twit was.
So when I first started to use the RNIB, it was mainly their Talking Books services, and
their Transcription services. And this opened up a whole new world for me. It opened up
the world of books, And it helped me to discover that inner person that I didn't even know I had,
which was the writer.
And when I discovered that I had an ability to write, and a love for reading, and a passion
for literature, and I was nurtured by the voices of people like Roald Dahl, Charlotte
Brontë, Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll, I came to discover what it meant to write, and what
it meant to use and harness the power of words. And that was a phenomenal gift for me,
because it opened up a brand new chapter in my life.
And what this in turn meant was that I was able to go on to study for a degree in English
Literature at university, which I got a full scholarship for. I was able to study an MA
in Children's Literature, that I'm currently studying now. I was able to graduate with
an English Literature degree, this year. And it in turn meant that I was able to use my
writing skills to start to write journalism articles, and also start up a blog, called
called Fashioneyesta.com, cheeky plug!
[Audience laughs and applauds]
Which is a blog that I run, and it's about fashion and lifestyle and disability. And
it's a place that I use to challenge stereotypes that surround sight loss, and to help people
who are also going through sight loss.
And one of the biggest stereotypes I still challenge to this day is
"You're so trendy, you don't look blind!" [Audience laughs]
But I'm just one of the many examples of the ways that RNIB helps a person on a daily basis,
and enriches their lives.
People from all different backgrounds and different ages use the RNIB on a regular basis,
to help them and support them, to help them gain confidence, to meet new people, and to
develop and improve their skills, which will in turn help them to carry on with their life.
So I'm sure that many people will tell you about how RNIB's changed their lives. Because
behind each person with a disability, we are still a normal person, just like the next person.
Like James... where is James actually?
So I think James would like to say a few words to you all.
[James] Good afternoon, I'm James. And I just want to say thank you.
[Audience] Ahhh! [Applause]
[Emily] Bless him.
It's vital that these services are able to continue to be provided to people with
sight loss. Because the RNIB can really help to unlock doors for people,
and make them see their potential.
Everyone and anyone deserves 2 things - a choice and a chance. A choice to be the person
that they want to be, and a chance to prosper. And no-one should be denied that chance and
that choice, regardless of the fact that they've got a disability. Because behind that disability,
we are normal people with a desire to live normal lives.
I like writing blogs, eating Doritos, watching Netflix, I hate going to work in the morning,
[Audience laughs]
I hate having to do essay assignments, just like any other person. And James loves to
play sport and has to go to school just like any other child his age.
And it's vital that people can continue to be and live normal lives,
and be the person that they want to be.
So tonight I hope this inspires you to all pledge to the RNIB and help to ignite a spark
in someone, that will start off something truly amazing. Because with your help, people
with sight loss can become the person that they want to be, and they can prosper, and
go on to do great things, and leave the world of sight loss behind in some sense, and gain
some closure, and become a better person, and go on to do great things.
Thank you everybody. [Audience cheers and applauds]
[Outro music - Jingle Bells, jazz style]