Published: March 27th, 2025

My name is Abigail Ricardo. This is my first post, and I’m so excited to introduce myself to everyone. 

I was born visually impaired, so many may think that life has been difficult for me and that I would’ve given up so easily. However, that was never my choice. I am an intelligent, loyal, and willful person. Having a visual impairment may have changed the course of some of the things in my life, but I still continued on forward. I was fortunate to have assistance with tools that helped with my visual impairment. I went to school at Ivy Tech for Human Services, and it made me realize how I wanted to make an impact on the community. I wanted to make sure no child, teenager, or adult would ever feel that their voices weren’t heard. Especially as an advocate for the visually impaired or those with mental health issues. 

As a teenager and in my young adult life, I struggled with anxiety and depression. It reached a point where medications that were prescribed to me became a constant need. I want to make sure that people who read this blog understand that struggles aren’t easy to overcome. Struggles can affect people in different ways. There are ways to overcome those struggles, such as with support. That support can come in different ways, such as from loved ones, support groups, or even learning to heal yourself. Self-healing can come in the ways of meditation, walking and connecting with nature, or even through changing habits. 

As a Mexican woman, our culture doesn’t like to discuss mental health. We are either told to clean and be productive or that we’re just craving attention. However, that’s never the case. Our parents may be from different generations, but they should never overlook the mental health of their children. Mental health is just as important as physical health. Our minds have to be healthy and balanced so that our bodies function properly as they should. That being said, I want to take my time to say that mental health advocacy is an important thing. Every single human should take the time of their day to compliment a stranger and to make them feel appreciated. You may never know if that person that you see may be going through difficult times. A simple compliment such as, “I like your style!” could have made that person’s day. You shouldn’t expect a response but rather feel that positive energy that you provided to another human.

I wanted to also share about the two most important women in my life. Those women being my grandmother and my mother. My mother, who came to a new country without the knowledge of the language, did everything she could to support myself and two younger brothers. My grandmother taught me about being such a strong warrior as she herself was one. Even throughout her battle with cancer, she stayed strong and made me remember how to keep going even when life feels that it is crumbling apart. She sadly passed away, but I know that she’s no longer suffering anymore and that she is proud of the amazing grown woman I am today. 

I want to make sure blogs such as mine can reach out to anyone to make sure they understand that you matter. This blog is meant to help those with disabilities or mental health issues or their loved ones. If you don’t have anything nice to say or you don’t agree with any of the topics mentioned in this blog, then don’t comment at all. This is a safe space for those in need. I hope that my blogs help you understand that. I will always do my best to post every single day about a new topic. Thank you to anyone who took their own time to read this. You are very appreciated.