Discovering Confidence Through Vulnerability

 

Born and raised Texan, 22-year-old Lindi Goff created a personal blog in 2016. Lindi’s blog started as just a fashion passion project, but eventually, it turned into a vulnerability space for her to share her experiences with vision loss.

Eight years ago, Lindi went in for her annual eye doctor appointment and was referred to the Retina Foundation in Dallas, where she was diagnosed with Stargardt disease. At only 13 years old, Lindi wasn’t experiencing any symptoms yet, aside from wearing glasses or contacts most of her life, so she didn’t understand the full picture of how her diagnosis with Stargardt disease would affect her future.

But as the years have gone by and Lindi’s vision loss has started to progress more rapidly, she’s learned how important it is to accept her situation rather than deny it.

“It’s more exhausting to try to ignore your diagnosis,” says Lindi. “When I was finally able to accept my situation with Stargardt and share my story with others, it made me feel more comfortable in my own skin. You really have to just embrace the imperfections life throws at you to keep moving forward.”

At this point, Lindi’s vision loss doesn’t affect her ability to accomplish anything in her daily life, it just affects how she goes about getting some things done. She primarily uses her iPhone and MacBook accessibility settings for assistance with everyday tasks.

Currently attending Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, Lindi plans to move to New York City after graduating this May. She is studying advertising and public relations and hopes to work in the fashion or beauty industry as a social media marketer or project manager. Lindi strives to continue evolving her blog and use it to be a role model for others to look to since there aren’t many, if any, visually impaired fashion bloggers.

“Everyone struggles with one thing or another in life,” says Lindi. “So I recently decided to use my blog to open up about my vision loss journey and cultivate a community where other people with any visual impairments or disability can go to feel their authentic self.”

In just the last year since sharing her experiences with vision loss, Lindi has hosted Zoom meetings with other individuals in their teens and 20s with Stargardt disease. She has also connected with another young woman with retinitis pigmentosa through Instagram, and now they’re planning to partner with their blogs.

“It’s been really cool to see all these doors opening just from sharing my story with Stargardt,” says Lindi. “It took me a long time to collect my thoughts, and it was initially tough for me to be so vulnerable about my vision loss. I didn’t want anyone to think less of me, but that hasn’t been the case, and it’s all been worth it to become an advocate for myself and others.”

Lindi feels passionate that her blog’s topics of fashion and lifestyle go hand in hand as well. Lindi typically gets her fashion inspiration from New York City bloggers and classic fashion brands like Kate Spade.

“Wearing a cute dress makes me feel good about myself and the best version of myself,” says Lindi. “It also shows that I can still run a fashion blog, just like anyone else could, with visual impairments.”

As Lindi has gotten older and grown into an independent woman since her initial diagnosis, she now feels like her diagnosis with Stargardt is a very positive part of her life.

“My Stargardt disease has taught me to adapt to any situation and has given me a unique perspective on the world,” says Lindi. “I just want to make the most of my life and embrace my imperfections, and I wouldn’t be so confident and have learned so much about myself at such a young age if it weren’t for Stargardt.”

Follow Lindi’s journey with fashion and Stargardt on her blog by visiting lindigoff.com.

 

This Beacon Story was originally published on April 12, 2021.