Helen Keller: Forever a True Icon

Helen Adams Keller did so much to advance women’s rights and the rights and recognition of people with disabilities just by living her life to the fullest. Born in 1880 in Alabama, she certainly wasn’t lucky to be born into a period or place where her rights would be recognized anytime soon. After losing her sight and hearing at the mere age of 19 months her life was anything but a breeze. Yet, despite — or maybe because of — the early struggles she came out triumphant and lead a very interesting life. Her advocacy was unmatched and she made sure that the entire world who dealt with vision loss was represented through her. 

Her Incredible Life Story 

Helen Keller lead a life full of hope and victory. No matter what the universe threw at her she prevailed and not only that but she also inspired millions. To this day she keeps inspiring people from all walks of life. She’s a symbol of courage and a real-life example that you can overcome adversity to still have a successful life in spite of anything and everything. Her intelligence paired with a deep sense of compassion made it so that her activism was an endless fountain of hope. 

Anne Sullivan was the first teacher that taught Keller reading and writing. Later, Keller would go on to write many books and essays on many topics. In 1915 she co-founded alongside George Kessler the Helen Keller International to assist blind soldiers during World War I. This organization is still to this day committed to continuing the worthy legacy of Keller.  

At just 23 years of age, Keller released her first book as an autobiography. One year later she became the first deafblind person ever to graduate with Bachelor of Arts honors. She traveled a lot and gave lectures to those who needed to experience them. Her messages of hope and love resonated with so many people everywhere. Those incredibly lucky people who were witnesses to one of Helen Keller’s talks surely will have remembered and talked about it for many, many years afterward. 

Moreover, Keller was a women’s rights activist fighting for the right of women to vote among other things. She also understood that poorness in wealth comes from industrial oppressions outside of any one person’s hands. She loved and advocated for the working class constantly because she saw things that people even nowadays can’t. We’re all victims of circumstance and the dream of getting rich by working hard is nothing short of delusional in capitalism unless you’re willing to abuse the working class of course. Keller also met with every President throughout her time furthermore showcasing her influence on a wider scale. 

Thankfully, she was recognized as a hero while she was alive as well. Often times you read about people who have done amazing things in their lifetime but society simply wasn’t ready to see them for the heroes they were. In Keller’s case though, there were already documentaries being made about her while she was alive and thriving. Later in her life in 1964, she even received the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Lyndon Johnson. She died four years later in 1968 peacefully in her Connecticut home. 

Her legacy is never-ending and forever inspiring. She lived a colorful life and every young person but especially young girls need to read Keller’s life story to be inspired. Her devotion to doing the right thing and prevailing is admirable. Her timeless examples of bravery will be remembered for as long as there are people on Earth to remember her. 

Photo: Natata/Shutterstock

You might also like:

The Best TedTalks on Storytelling That Will Help You Find Your Voice

Support us!

All your donations will be used to pay the magazine’s journalists and to support the ongoing costs of maintaining the site.