Ever since I was a child, I had a dream to study English and become a journalist. However, I did not even have a chance to attend school until I was 17 years old. During my teenage years, I lost my sight due to an accident and was neglected by my family. I became homeless on the streets of Morocco, but I never gave up. I started looking for shelters and associations to overcome the difficulties I faced. Many doors were closed in front of me, but I deeply believed in myself and never lost hope.
It took me six years to finally stand on my own after I graduated from a high school for the blind in 2013. I then attended university in Morocco and studied English. While there, someone told me about the Moroccan-American Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange (MACECE) and advised me to ask about how I could study in the United States. I will never forget the first day I met the people who worked there. It was my first time in a place where they did not immediately close the door on me and really supported me emotionally, morally, and psychologically. They said that if I worked hard on my English language skills and took exams, that I would make it. This was the first time I was told there was no difference between me and everyone else, that I am as normal as other people.
After a lot of hard work, I applied for a Fulbright scholarship in 2016, and I’m so grateful to everyone at MACECE and Fulbright for their help and supporting me. Being a Fulbrighter is not just a scholarship. In my opinion, it is much more than that. I feel like I am motivated to leave a legacy behind me just as Senator J. William Fulbright did. Many people know that he died more than 22 years ago, but in my opinion, he is still alive and will never die. Thinking about him and what he has done will never fade away. Being a Fulbrighter and leaving a mark like his is indescribable. I’m so honored to be completing my Fulbright Program in his home state of Arkansas.
Even before I landed in Arkansas, thanks to social media, I was able to connect with people from my host city of Fayetteville. Many of these people have become part of my family. When I first landed, I found my American host family and they, have become my parents in soul even though we’re not related. They brought me to my apartment which was being furnished and prepared by another couple. A few days later, I was introduced to a few friends who have become my soul sisters. I’m so happy to have found a family in Arkansas.
My blindness has brought many people into my life, and while I’ve only been in Arkansas for 8 months, I feel like I have been here forever. The first day I arrived, I made lots of friends from the start. It is a great feeling when you find out that people want to be a part of your life not because you’re blind but because they want to be with you. I am grateful to my friends for their help even before I came here. Most of them have become my eyes and some of them have become my family. It was hard for someone like me who was neglected to believe that love and friendship exist, but I know it does because of my friends and family in Arkansas. People here support me in ways that go beyond being my sight.
As a blind person, the scholarship has brought light into my life and made me feel no longer blind. Challenges I have been facing are normal challenges that everyone faces, like culture shock, but being blind has never and will never be a challenge. Professors don’t treat me differently because I’m blind. My department and university have provided me with everything I need, and that is the reason I feel like there is no challenge. The Fulbright Program has helped me in so many ways. It will be easier for me to find a job and help others and bring light into darkness as well as bring life changes to those who suffer. I hope to become a voice to the voiceless through my journalism and I’m so grateful to Senator Fulbright and the American people for helping me accomplish this.
Itto is currently studying Journalism at the University of Arkansas and is from Morocco.
