CONTENT THAT HELPS PEOPLE SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY

Hi! I’m Olivia! 😄

I was blind from birth until 2016. I post on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

I began life at the bottom. I was orphaned due to my disabilities and skin color.

I have ligament laxity, which causes chronic pain, mobility issues, and restricts what I can wear. That did not prevent me from achieving a gold medal as a para athlete, winning multiple awards in tech innovation, and producing globally-recognized inclusive educational creative communities and virtual immersive theatre.

My experience and B. A. from Rutgers University in Sociology / Psychology empower me to speak, teach, and collaborate with organizations and brands that believe in cultivating inclusive and ethical communities.

My mission is to get you to see your life as the beautiful gift it is no matter where it began or what twists and turns it takes.

Specializations include: Poverty, Disability, Mental Health, Eating Disorders, Body Acceptance, Chronic Pain, Trauma, and Diversity / Inclusion.

The Beginning:

Baby Olivia sits in a red onesie and baby hat under a Christmas Tree.

I remember being lifted into the doctor’s chair. He moved this cold thing near my face and told me to look through it.

Baby Olivia sits on a bench in a posed photo shoot. She wears a white dress and patent leather shoes.

He told me that I was legally blind.

I was 5.

A mock up image of a clear close up hand and a fuzzy outside world.

Blindness is a spectrum.

Every blind person is not the same.

I was so nearsighted I could not identify people, walk outside by myself, or watch TV.

Olivia age 7ish. She has thick glasses that obstruct her face. She is awkwardly standing with a piece of paper in her hand.

At school, the other kids bullied me because I was easy prey.
Some of my teachers treated me as if I were stupid.

I believed them.

Olivia age 6 on Halloween dressed as a princess. She has a wand, crown, and she is standing next to a jack o lantern.

I was prescribed 2 inch thick glasses.

It was like wearing a fishbowl over my face.

I would take my best guess at what was going on around me from the faint images I could vaguely perceive.

Olivia Durant age 7ish standing behind bars in a jail at a historical recreation site. Her face is obstructed with large and heavy glasses.

One day I was in a Sears department store with my Grandmother. I wandered off to find the toy section.

I ran back to who I thought was my Grandmother…it was the face of a complete stranger instead.

This was one moment of many that made me feel always afraid and unsure of my abilities.

I always felt lost.

Olivia age 8ish wearing a white sweater and a gold necklace with her hair pulled back on a school photo. She is not wearing glasses.

When I reached age 9, I was given special contact lenses that gave me a small amount of peripheral vision.

Stock photo of books.

I hid in my room and read hundreds of books.

I felt safe there.

I had my imagination.

Olivia age 12 dressed as Rogue from the X-Men.

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to be when I grew up.

Most people assumed I wouldn’t amount to anything. 

I vowed to prove them wrong.

Olivia Durant resting on a couch. She is wearing very thick glasses and smiling.

When I reached age 34, a new eye doctor mentioned an operation that could possibly improve my vision. 

I might lose what little eyesight I had.
I knew I had to take that risk and have the surgery.

It was a success.

Olivia sitting happily on a chair with her cell phone. She is wearing jeans, combat boots, and a black tank top. She also had a red streak in her black hair.

One day, I saw a stranger in the mirror and said hello. 

That stranger I didn’t recognize was me. 

For the first time in my life, I now knew what I looked like. 

Olivia sitting in a car wearing sunglasses and a blue and red floral dress. She is smiling.

One time I walked into a restaurant and people turned to look at me. 

Before surgery I would have assumed they were staring at me because I was stupid or ugly.

I realized they were simply looking at me, just like they were looking at everyone else.

Olivia sitting outside a coffeehouse smiling. She wears sunglasses, a grey tank top, and a gold bird necklace. She has red streaks in her black hair.

Everything I thought I knew about the world was wrong.

Life as I knew it was over… and also just beginning.

Olivia Durant with solid black hair sitting in the front seat of a car. She is parked ion a parking lot and sitting facing the camera, as if to get into the car. She looks happy and determined.

I didn’t just gain my eyesight – I now had a second chance to live.

And I promised the scared little girl that I was that I would make the most of it.