Olivia Durant, from Pittsburgh and based in Los Angeles, was legally blind from birth.
Olivia Durant, from Pittsburgh and based in Los Angeles, was legally blind from birth. ‘Blindness is a spectrum. Every blind person is not the same. I was so near-sighted I could not identify people, walk outside by myself, or watch TV,’ her website explains.
In 2016, Durant underwent a series of surgeries that helped her see the world clearly. The new experience was “jarring,” and when she saw herself in the mirror for the first time, she was shocked, Durant shared in an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session on Tiktok.
When she was finally able to see herself in a mirror, Durant said she had to adjust her perception of herself, along with getting used to things like body language.
“I shocked myself. I had trouble recognizing my own reflection in the mirror, and I had to deal with the fact that I looked differently than what the bullies in my life had told me,” she said.
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.
Despite her struggling life, Durant has managed to gather numerous feathers in her cap. On her website, she describes herself as “ a Los Angeles-based elite-class Innovator and extreme Athlete with an unstoppable drive.”
