May 29, 2026 • 23 mins
🎙️ At just 8 years old, Gia Bernhard was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder that would eventually take her sight.
Today, she's an artist, advocate, and living example of resilience.
In this powerful episode, Gia shares how she navigated blindness, found purpose through creativity, and turned adversity into impact.
Her story will challenge, inspire, and remind you that even in life's darkest moments, hope remains.
Listen now. 💙
#TheResilienceFiles #ResilienceUnlocked #BlindnessAwareness #DisabilityAdvocate #Resilience
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
When you feel like life has dealt you a hand of
unfair cards, instead of voting,you double down.
Are you stuck in the game?
You faced battles.
You felt broken.
But hey, do us a favor.
Put your hand on your heart.
You feel that?
You're still here.
Welcome to the Resilience FilesUnlock, where survival meets
(00:25):
transformation.
Welcome back to the ResilienceFiles Podcast.
I'm so excited to be here withyou today.
My name is Carrie Vernon,actress, stunt woman, and host.
This space was created forhonest conversations about
healing.
We know that the healing journeycan be a lonely journey, but
we're here to push you throughbecause you're not doing it
(00:47):
alone.
You're right beside us, and wehope that you are inspired today
by our phenomenal guests.
Now, trigger warning for today'sepisode is discussions of
disability, childhoodexperiences, and identity.
As we say before, we are nottherapists.
We are not here to prescribe youanything.
We're here to inspire you.
We're survivors sharing stories.
Our goal is to amplify voices,not to diagnose, to provide
(01:10):
clinical advice.
So take a moment for yourself ifyou need to today.
As we do in Brazilience Files,we like to read our guest
essays.
And Gia has an incredible essayfor you all today.
Without further ado, we aregonna read Gia's story, and we
will talk to Gia rightafterwards.
(01:30):
I threw a blurred lens.
I remember being less than 10years old, sitting in the
ophthalmologist chair, heardpictures with no true meaning
glowed on a backlit screenacross the room.
An ophthalmologist repeatedlyasked me to identify the photos,
which I clearly could not.
I told him with all sinceritythat I did not know what the
pictures were multiple times.
He began to sputter and growangry, thinking that I was being
(01:54):
ironic or obstinate.
I wasn't.
That was when my mother realizedsomething was wrong.
I visited specialists at WillisI Institute in Philadelphia.
After extensive testing, I wasdiagnosed with a rare genetic
disorder called enhanced S.
Combs syndrome.
I was legally blind.
I had never minded being blindwhen left alone with myself.
(02:14):
I'd always found a way tonavigate and never thought much
about what differentiated mefrom others.
However, when I was with othersat school or out in the public,
the difference felt unbearable.
I could not read the whiteboardsor textbooks in school without
using an iPad to enlargeeverything.
Before the iPad came out, I wasgiven magnifying glasses and
(02:36):
large sheets of paper withinlarge font.
The commission for the blindused to visit at school and take
me from class to teach me bro.
And while I was appreciative oftheir kindness and
attentiveness, I was stilloverwhelming theirs.
So I learned to adapt in quieterways.
I became very good atpretending, laughing when others
laughed, nodding when somethingwas being pointed out, and
(02:56):
providing fake reactions so noone would notice when I couldn't
see what they saw.
Even now, there are momentswhere my instinct is still to
pretend.
I was happy to have severalclose friends, but aside from
them, it often felt like themajority of students were kind
to me out of pity and sympathy.
I spent much of my childhoodwishing that I was someone I was
not, when in reality, who I washad always been enough.
(03:19):
People always associate achildhood with joy and
innocence.
But for me, my childhood andadolescence were some of the
most uncomfortable years.
I hadn't yet learned thatdifferent did not mean lesson.
As I grew older, I stoppedcaring about what other people
thought of me.
Or maybe I simply grew tired oftrying to be like everyone else.
I found comfort in actingclasses, developed a love for
(03:42):
classical piano, and used thearts as a means to escape the
more unfortunate aspects of mylife.
The people I met in acting classwere so kind and unusual in the
most beautiful ways.
I never felt othered among them.
When I played piano, no one sawthe work that went into my
creative process, enlarging eachnote until I was able to
memorize a piece.
(04:03):
The arts gave me somethingpriceless, a place where my
differences did not feel likelimitations, but part of the way
I moved through the world.
I carried that determinationinto my education.
I refused to let myunconventional way of seeing
prevent me from secedingacademically.
I used specialized monitors toenlarge exams and materials.
(04:23):
And although it was stilloccasionally embarrassing, by
high school, most people simplysaw me as myself.
I even grew comfortable among myclassmates who, as younger
children, had once laughed outof their own misunderstanding.
Eventually, I pursued both abachelor's and a master's degree
in public health, even by adesire to advocate for those who
felt unseenalized or believedtheir differences disqualify
(04:45):
them from reaching their fullpotential.
I even studied abroad withnothing more than Google Maps
and hoped that I would find myway, just as I always had.
I now rarely tell anyone aboutmy legal blindness unless this
naturally lends itself to aconversation.
While it is only a small part ofwho I am today, it was a
significant part of my life formany years and shaped me into
(05:07):
the person I have become.
When I think about the younggirl I once was, I don't see
someone broken.
I see someone resilient, a childwho was learning long before she
realized it, how capable shetruly was.
I may not be able to see well,but I have come to understand
that there is much more to lifethan merely saying.
Gia.
(05:28):
My goodness.
Wow.
Welcome to the Resilience FilePodcast.
I am so happy that you are here.
Whoa, that was soheart-wrenching and cinematic
and just intimate, and I canfeel like it's a movie.
SPEAKER_01 (05:41):
And first off, how are you doing today?
Hi, thank you so much for havingme.
I'm excited to be here.
I'm doing well today.
It's a little chilly out, but Iam getting through the storm.
SPEAKER_00 (05:50):
So yeah, you're in the cold part of New York.
SPEAKER_01 (05:54):
Woo! Yes, chilly New York.
SPEAKER_00 (05:56):
Yes, girl.
Wow.
Well, I mean, your essay was sobeautiful.
And uh, I just really appreciateyou just trusting us with that.
The way you describe many thingsabout learning to pretend and
learning to adapt quietly toyour situation, but not a
situation, something you wereblessed with.
I mean, I feel like it's ablessing to have these like
(06:17):
crazy superhero powers.
That's what I'm gonna call ittoday, okay?
Because blindness to some peoplemight look as like, you know,
not a superpower.
I mean, we're gonna, of course,talk about the uncomfortable
parts of being diagnosed withyour blindness.
But today, I wanna grant you, ifyou allow me to, but no
pressure, that you were able tolike have this unique thing that
(06:40):
other people can't evenexperience.
And as crazy as it sounds, likethe world, most of the world may
never understand what you'veexperienced, but then also you
get to experience what most ofthe world never experienced, and
you can't even explain it.
It's gonna come back to me.
But I just say in my eyes, Iwork on a lot of Marvel stuff.
I feel like you're a superhero.
And as I read your essay, Ireally feel like you're a
(07:00):
superhero.
I wanna go back into how youlearn to adapt quietly and
finding a home in the arts andlike all of that.
It's incredibly moving.
I want to start at thebeginning.
SPEAKER_01 (07:12):
Sure.
So I guess to kick things offwhere it all started, um, when I
was young, I really didn't havethat well of an understanding of
I guess what was going on.
Um you would say.
It started off like littlethings here and there.
Like I noticed in the dark, likeI couldn't get up the staircase,
like when it was dark, becauseI'm night blind.
So I would ask, you know, myparents to help me help me get
up the stairs.
(07:32):
I'm scared, I can't see.
They're like, what do you mean?
Like, are you scared like of theghost or the monster?
Like, you know, any otherfive-year-old.
Like, you would assume they'rescared of, you know, Bigfoot
upstairs.
But I was like, no, like I can'tsee to get up the staircase.
Just little things like that,like not being able to see in
class, like not being able totell what time it was.
So to me, that's kind of likehow I was perceiving what was
(07:54):
going on.
And I guess probably to myparents, they were wondering,
like, what is going on?
Or my teachers, and that's kindof when like the red flag went
up.
Um, and yeah, I would saybecause my vision disorder is
progressive, like it got worseover like from kindergarten to
third grade.
I remember it was just like asteep dive down.
And yeah, so from there theykind of noticed, and then they
(08:16):
they made me get some testing,they got me help, and they
realized what it was, and then Ikind of grew to understand from
there.
Um, yeah, just from hearingeverything around me.
SPEAKER_00 (08:25):
Wow.
Thank you for sharing that.
So you um and when you sayyou're night blind, can you
explain the difference foranybody that doesn't understand
the world of blindness or um asense of eyesight?
What is the difference betweencompletely blind, night blind,
day blind?
Sure.
SPEAKER_01 (08:41):
So um if you were to turn a light off in your room,
um, I have heard that peoplecould see where things are
around the room.
For me, it is just like if youwere to close your eyes, it's
pitch black.
Um, so yeah, that's how I wouldexplain it.
SPEAKER_00 (08:53):
Okay.
Completely makes sense.
How did it feel navigatingschool and the world that
technically it wasn't built forblind people originally?
SPEAKER_01 (09:05):
It was difficult.
I've adjusted a lot.
Now I feel like I'm pretty usedto it.
But at first, I mean things likedriving, I can't drive, reading
signs like I was mentioning,menus, restaurants, things like
that.
And I are not super compatible,but thank God for the phone,
like I'll just look up a menuahead of time, or whoever I'm
out with, like, I'll be like,read me, like, read me the menu
like now.
Like, you know, before I go upand order.
(09:27):
But um, yeah, I mean there'sdefinitely adjustments I've had
to make.
And like I said, when I wasyounger, it felt bigger than I
think in reality, maybe it was,or I guess it is a big deal.
SPEAKER_00 (09:36):
No, it was it definitely was a big deal
because let's be real, like whenwe go to school, like everything
is definitely built for um, it'sbuilt to see, it's built to use,
it's built to like in and whenyou can see, you're right, you
are criticized because some onepart of your essay you were like
the doctor was like, No, likeliterally, like open your eyes,
or like I'm being serious, andhe's getting more angry with you
(09:57):
thinking that you were jokinglyplaying, and in school, kids
jokingly play about not beingable to see or do this or that,
but that was a true reality foryou.
And how would do you rememberthe conversation your parents
had with your school or yourteachers?
Did they make things accessiblefor you?
SPEAKER_01 (10:12):
So, yes, and it took a lot to get there.
So, in elementary school, Ithink the younger you are, the
more willing people are to workwith you because when you're
little, it's cute.
So, when I was little, it wascute, and I think it was more
like, oh, the cute little blindgirl needs to learn how to cross
the street and you know, do thebraille paperwork.
As I got to high school,originally I went to a private
(10:33):
high school, and they were like,Well, if you need an iPad, like
we have an exclusive deal withanother laptop company that
doesn't make the font larger.
So maybe this just isn't theenvironment for you.
And unfortunately, I had toleave that high school.
Yeah, which was kind of rude.
But some people not asaccommodating.
As you get older, people areless willing to work with you,
(10:54):
and that's kind of I think whereI learned to put my foot down
and be like, this is actuallywhat's gonna happen.
You're kind of just gonna agreewith me, or else, you know what
I mean.
SPEAKER_00 (11:03):
Yeah, absolutely.
And yeah, shame on that school.
Education is for everyone, itdoesn't matter like what
limitations, abilities,disabilities, whatever you have.
Shame on that school, and I hopethey got their stuff together
now because that's wrong.
How did it also feel navigatinglike your friendships at the
time, like letting people know,or did you keep it a secret?
SPEAKER_01 (11:21):
So I actually found as I got older, I kept it a
secret a lot more.
When I was younger, becauseeveryone I was in school with
saw me using all like thisadaptive technology and having
like the special teachers comein.
Like I think everyone knew, likeit was impossible to keep it a
secret.
Now I think because I adaptedmore like on my own, and I don't
have like, you know, a castingcrew of people coming to help me
(11:42):
anymore, it's easier for me tokeep like low-key unless it
comes up in conversation, whichI'm totally comfortable with at
this point.
SPEAKER_00 (11:49):
For the kid that may be listening today, and they may
be like having a new diagnosisof finding out that they're
blind or, you know, some type oflimitation or disability while
they're navigating school.
Do you have any advice for thatkid?
Or how did you feel like youadapted over time?
I know you said it was youdidn't tell people more like in
high school.
(12:09):
Did you just tell them out ofnot wanting to be singled out,
or did you just wanted people toreally just get to know you as
the person you were besides yourlimitation at that moment?
SPEAKER_01 (12:19):
So that's what I think it is.
It's more of when people hearthat you have a disability or
something a little different.
I don't think it's intentional.
I try to give people the benefitof the doubt, but they kind of
other you like in their mind.
Like they'll put you in a box,like, oh, like the disabled
person.
And then whenever you achievesomething, it's like, wow, look
what they did, like despiteblah, blah, blah.
(12:40):
And I always hated that.
Like, I just wanted to achievethings on my own and be like, oh
wow, she did that because she'ssmart, or she did that because
she worked hard.
Like, I didn't want it to bebecause I was blind and look
what I did.
Like, yeah, because I do think,you know, aside from some slight
differences, we are still allhumans, and I I think it's a
little ridiculous.
Like, I know I guess there's adifference in the way I went
(13:01):
about it, but I still achievedsomething just like anyone else
would.
SPEAKER_00 (13:04):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (13:04):
So I almost hated being like coddled in a way.
SPEAKER_00 (13:07):
100%.
That makes completely completesense.
And that's a good um good pointto make for people that are
listening today.
You know, acknowledge people forthe work that they've done,
despite their limitations,abilities, and abilities,
disabilities, whatever it is,that they've done the hard work
because they are actually smart,because they actually did the
work, and we shouldn't discountanyone based on anything.
(13:32):
I appreciate that you said that.
You all talked about pretendinga lot, laughing, nodding,
blending in.
When did you realize that thathas become something that you
were using as a maskingmechanism?
Oh, I mean, honestly, I still doit today.
SPEAKER_01 (13:45):
If someone were to show me something on their
phone, and let's say it's just avery like low effort
conversation, or like just lookat this like TikTok I saw, and
this is where I notice ithappening most.
Just like if I see themlaughing, I'll just laugh along
with it.
I have no idea what the heck isgoing on.
But I'm just like, oh my god,like you know, ha ha.
And um, yeah, usually it works.
I mean, I've never had anyonequestion it.
(14:06):
Um, but I 10 times out of 10never know what's on that
screen, unless it's like reallylike one of my best friends.
And I'm like, give me thatphone, and I'm like zooming in
on it.
But yeah, like casually out withlike friends I see once in a
while or something.
I'll just I'll I let it slide,which you know.
SPEAKER_00 (14:21):
Wow, yeah, that's so interesting.
It actually makes a point too,even for these apps to be more
accessible.
How could an app be moreaccessible for a person that is
blind?
Like what capabilities wouldhelp you?
SPEAKER_01 (14:33):
What I would love to see from TikTok and Instagram is
an accessibility feature whereyou can make other people's
captions bigger, or like onTikTok, if the font of a video,
let's say, is smaller.
You know how they havetranslations like for different
languages?
I would love if they could justmake it like in the same
language but larger.
Um, so just an idea.
But yeah, whatever.
(14:53):
I love that.
SPEAKER_00 (14:54):
Hey girl, look, you might be having a side job right
now.
You could um start doingaccessibility services for some
of these apps.
I need to, I'm gonna advocatefor you myself, but they
definitely need more differentcommunities to talk about this.
TikTok and Instagram, if you'relistening, this is for you.
YouTube as well.
So let's get into you startedacting and the playing the
(15:17):
piano, it became your sanctuary.
Why do you think art felt safefor you in your everyday life?
SPEAKER_01 (15:22):
I think art felt safe for me mostly because the
people that I was around made ita very comfortable space for me.
My piano teacher growing up, Ihad him for over like a decade.
Um, and he knew my situation.
He never made me feel bad aboutit.
Um, if my playing was bad, itwas bad, and he just told me how
it was, and I really appreciatedthat.
Um with my acting.
And I think a part of the artsthat as a blind person I really
(15:45):
appreciate is that I have theopportunity to rehearse, and the
final product doesn't look anydifferent, if that makes sense.
Yes.
There's something to that that Ireally appreciate because you
can't tell the difference onceeverything's said and done.
SPEAKER_00 (15:59):
Yeah, I love that.
You mentioned something withyour piano teacher not having,
you know, not limiting you toyour disability, and they were
very much like if you like yousaid, if you suck, you sucked,
if you were good, you were good.
Um question for you would be doyou feel that it is necessary or
do you feel that it's a um whatis the word?
(16:21):
Is it a setback for people toallow someone with a disability
such as blindness, you know, alittle bit more time or a crutch
to lean on while navigatingtheir disability and exploring
something new like that?
SPEAKER_01 (16:36):
No, I think that everybody deserves to have
leniency and especiallydepending on the disability, I
think that people learn andadapt differently.
So the way that I was able toplay piano was a lot by
listening and just repeatingwhat I've heard.
But let's say if someone doesn'thave that skill or they're more
visual and they can't hear aswell, then I think things would
definitely have to be adjusted.
(16:56):
But once I had my my systemdown, I guess, then at that
point, I feel like if you havekind of your flow and you know,
you know, how you're gonna goabout learning things, then I
think it's fair game at thatpoint.
But to get to that point's adifferent story.
SPEAKER_00 (17:08):
I love that.
Wow.
Thank you for sharing that.
What do you think creativitygave you that it other people
couldn't give?
SPEAKER_01 (17:14):
That's a good one.
Something creativity gave methat other people couldn't give
me.
Honestly, just freedom ofthought and expression.
I think for me, it's a loteasier to I know I'm talking a
lot now, but it's a lot easierfor me to communicate um through
music and I think through likeart more than it is like to just
be up front and say thingssometimes.
(17:34):
So I do appreciate like, youknow, a way of freedom of
expression.
It's nice.
SPEAKER_00 (17:39):
I love that.
I want to shift into identity.
When did you stop seeingyourself as different?
SPEAKER_01 (17:44):
Probably late middle school years to high school
years, I really stopped caring.
And I don't know if I totallyever saw myself as completely
not different.
Like fundamentally, I realized,okay, I think I'm like really
emphasizing way too much on thisone aspect of my life.
Like, I need to not move on fromit, but in a way, sort of like
(18:04):
move past this and like youknow, time to time to snap out
of it.
SPEAKER_00 (18:07):
Um what do you think at that time during middle
school?
What helped you reclaim yoursense of worth and identity?
SPEAKER_01 (18:14):
I'm not quite sure.
Um I think I just found a lot ofpersonal hobbies and interests.
Like I was starting to enjoyschool more as I was getting
used to adapting with the way Isaw things.
So maybe there was arelationship between me almost
having practiced like how towork around the environment and
stuff, like not being able tosee, and then gaining
confidence.
(18:35):
I wouldn't be surprised ifthat's what it was, but I never
quite put my finger on it.
SPEAKER_00 (18:38):
Well, I think like even you lose yourself in things
that you love and you reallytruly find yourself and then the
things that are strengths.
You know how some people saywhen you lose one sense of
sight, then your hearingincreases, or if you lose
hearing, then your taste touchincreases.
Did that happen for you?
SPEAKER_01 (18:56):
Yes, I'm literally I'm laughing because I was the
second you said about the sense,I was gonna say my hearing is
insane, people tell me comparedto the way that I see.
I could hear my parents likewhen they're around, like from
down the block when I waslittle, I'd be like, like, are
you talking about me?
Like I'd be in my room and theywere like downstairs in the
kitchen.
I'm like, who are you on thephone with?
(19:16):
Like, what are you saying aboutme?
And they're like, How do youknow?
Like, what we're saying.
They're like, Stopeavesdropping.
So, yes.
SPEAKER_00 (19:23):
I love that.
That's so funny.
Um, you talked about advocacadvocacy and purpose and where
you are now.
I think you chose public health,right?
SPEAKER_01 (19:32):
Yeah, I didn't.
SPEAKER_00 (19:32):
Why public health?
I love public health.
SPEAKER_01 (19:35):
I think there's a lot of different things that you
could do with it, andspecifically advocacy.
My focus was global health.
So it's looking at a lot ofdifferent, you know, like
resources, like where like whatwe could do to help different
areas, like specific needs.
Like, I guess, for example, alot of the work I've done is in
mental health.
So the majority, the bulk of mywork in graduate school was
(19:56):
global mental health.
So that's really what I did.
I focused on in my time.
SPEAKER_00 (20:00):
As you are navigating public health, has
have you been able to advocateor help with any of the
initiatives around likeincreasing accessibility for
people that are blind?
SPEAKER_01 (20:09):
So, not blindness specifically.
I have not had the opportunityto work with any other disabled
people.
I actually have not even metanother blind person in my life.
But fingers crossed, one day itwill happen.
Um I've worked a lot with umdomestic violence, women
experiencing like homeless list,uh homelessness that need to go
to shelters.
I was volunteering for a shelterfor a bit.
(20:31):
Yeah, I worked um global mentalhealth in Nepal.
I did some outreach for them.
I did like um a courseadaptation because they have a
lot of like stigma around there.
So just different things inmental health, but never
specifically disability,although I would love to do that
one day.
SPEAKER_00 (20:45):
And one of the questions I meant to ask at the
beginning, because I know a lotof people will like message and
ask this later, were yourfamily, was anyone in your
family fine as well?
SPEAKER_01 (20:54):
No.
So my parents both have they'reboth like carriers for the
disease.
Um, and I guess it was a perfectstorm, so I I have it now.
But before them having like thecarrier gene, I don't think
anyone else actually had thisspecific disorder.
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (21:10):
And do you have any children now?
No, I don't.
Just a dog.
That's a kid too, girl.
Um a soft, nice, cuddly kid.
Um, I love that.
And if you could talk to youngerGia right now, what would you
tell her?
SPEAKER_01 (21:25):
I would tell her honestly, just not to care
anymore.
Um, I know it's kind of blunt,but I think that's probably what
I needed at the time.
Yeah.
I think if I would have gottenout of my head and would have
just learned to enjoy, despite,you know, I mean, the truth is
that to me this felt very big.
And in a way it was, but so manypeople have their own things
(21:45):
going on in life.
Like, I think when you'relittle, you don't realize like
you're not the only one that'sgoing through something.
Like you need to just take adeep breath and kind of like let
it let it be.
So that's the advice I wouldgive myself.
SPEAKER_00 (21:58):
So sweet, younger Gia.
I am so, I'm so proud of youabout your courage.
I'm proud of you for pushingthrough.
I'm proud of you for not onlyjust you accepted, you know, the
diagnosis, but you decided tonot let it limit you who have
done the arts and piano andfinding places to be.
If someone's listening todaythat feels invisible or they
(22:19):
feel different or they feel liketheir blindness is limiting
them, what would you say tothem?
SPEAKER_01 (22:23):
Don't.
There's always somewhere outsomeone out there.
Like I met you through a calland then I ended up on a
podcast.
There's always someone that'swilling to listen.
Turns out there's a lot ofpeople that are willing to
listen that I never knew.
And to anyone else out there,I'm willing to listen.
And there's definitely morepeople that are too.
So never feel that way.
SPEAKER_00 (22:41):
I love that.
Gia, how can we follow up withyou if people are interested in
following your journey and yourarts and you playing the piano
and your public health work?
What is the best way of stayingin contact?
SPEAKER_01 (22:52):
Sure.
So you could reach out to me onInstagram.
It's Gia.burnhart, my first andlast name.
Or you could also find myYouTube channel.
I believe it's Chow, it's Gia.
Those are all my old pianovideos from when I was little.
So have fun with that.
But Instagram would be the mostdirect way.
SPEAKER_00 (23:06):
Gia, you're amazing.
Your story matters.
Thank you so much for trustingus with it.
And I'm sure it's going todefinitely help someone that's
listening today.
So if you're here listeningtoday, I hope that you are
inspired by Gia's story.
Hello, Gia.
Watch your play piano on YouTubeor even just follow her along on
her journey.
And this has been the ResilienceFouse Podcast Unlocked.
(23:26):
If you need some love today,we're sending you love.
If you need a hug today, we sendyou a virtual hug.
I hope this episode moved youand inspired you.
And stay tuned for the nextepisode.
Thank you so much.
When you feel like life has dealt you a hand of
unfair cards, instead of voting,you double down.
Are you stuck in the game?
You faced battles.
You felt broken.
But hey, do us a favor.
Put your hand on your heart.
You feel that?
You're still here.
Welcome to the Resilience FilesUnlock, where survival meets
(00:25):
transformation.
Welcome back to the ResilienceFiles Podcast.
I'm so excited to be here withyou today.
My name is Carrie Vernon,actress, stunt woman, and host.
This space was created forhonest conversations about
healing.
We know that the healing journeycan be a lonely journey, but
we're here to push you throughbecause you're not doing it
(00:47):
alone.
You're right beside us, and wehope that you are inspired today
by our phenomenal guests.
Now, trigger warning for today'sepisode is discussions of
disability, childhoodexperiences, and identity.
As we say before, we are nottherapists.
We are not here to prescribe youanything.
We're here to inspire you.
We're survivors sharing stories.
Our goal is to amplify voices,not to diagnose, to provide
(01:10):
clinical advice.
So take a moment for yourself ifyou need to today.
As we do in Brazilience Files,we like to read our guest
essays.
And Gia has an incredible essayfor you all today.
Without further ado, we aregonna read Gia's story, and we
will talk to Gia rightafterwards.
(01:30):
I threw a blurred lens.
I remember being less than 10years old, sitting in the
ophthalmologist chair, heardpictures with no true meaning
glowed on a backlit screenacross the room.
An ophthalmologist repeatedlyasked me to identify the photos,
which I clearly could not.
I told him with all sinceritythat I did not know what the
pictures were multiple times.
He began to sputter and growangry, thinking that I was being
(01:54):
ironic or obstinate.
I wasn't.
That was when my mother realizedsomething was wrong.
I visited specialists at WillisI Institute in Philadelphia.
After extensive testing, I wasdiagnosed with a rare genetic
disorder called enhanced S.
Combs syndrome.
I was legally blind.
I had never minded being blindwhen left alone with myself.
(02:14):
I'd always found a way tonavigate and never thought much
about what differentiated mefrom others.
However, when I was with othersat school or out in the public,
the difference felt unbearable.
I could not read the whiteboardsor textbooks in school without
using an iPad to enlargeeverything.
Before the iPad came out, I wasgiven magnifying glasses and
(02:36):
large sheets of paper withinlarge font.
The commission for the blindused to visit at school and take
me from class to teach me bro.
And while I was appreciative oftheir kindness and
attentiveness, I was stilloverwhelming theirs.
So I learned to adapt in quieterways.
I became very good atpretending, laughing when others
laughed, nodding when somethingwas being pointed out, and
(02:56):
providing fake reactions so noone would notice when I couldn't
see what they saw.
Even now, there are momentswhere my instinct is still to
pretend.
I was happy to have severalclose friends, but aside from
them, it often felt like themajority of students were kind
to me out of pity and sympathy.
I spent much of my childhoodwishing that I was someone I was
not, when in reality, who I washad always been enough.
(03:19):
People always associate achildhood with joy and
innocence.
But for me, my childhood andadolescence were some of the
most uncomfortable years.
I hadn't yet learned thatdifferent did not mean lesson.
As I grew older, I stoppedcaring about what other people
thought of me.
Or maybe I simply grew tired oftrying to be like everyone else.
I found comfort in actingclasses, developed a love for
(03:42):
classical piano, and used thearts as a means to escape the
more unfortunate aspects of mylife.
The people I met in acting classwere so kind and unusual in the
most beautiful ways.
I never felt othered among them.
When I played piano, no one sawthe work that went into my
creative process, enlarging eachnote until I was able to
memorize a piece.
(04:03):
The arts gave me somethingpriceless, a place where my
differences did not feel likelimitations, but part of the way
I moved through the world.
I carried that determinationinto my education.
I refused to let myunconventional way of seeing
prevent me from secedingacademically.
I used specialized monitors toenlarge exams and materials.
(04:23):
And although it was stilloccasionally embarrassing, by
high school, most people simplysaw me as myself.
I even grew comfortable among myclassmates who, as younger
children, had once laughed outof their own misunderstanding.
Eventually, I pursued both abachelor's and a master's degree
in public health, even by adesire to advocate for those who
felt unseenalized or believedtheir differences disqualify
(04:45):
them from reaching their fullpotential.
I even studied abroad withnothing more than Google Maps
and hoped that I would find myway, just as I always had.
I now rarely tell anyone aboutmy legal blindness unless this
naturally lends itself to aconversation.
While it is only a small part ofwho I am today, it was a
significant part of my life formany years and shaped me into
(05:07):
the person I have become.
When I think about the younggirl I once was, I don't see
someone broken.
I see someone resilient, a childwho was learning long before she
realized it, how capable shetruly was.
I may not be able to see well,but I have come to understand
that there is much more to lifethan merely saying.
Gia.
(05:28):
My goodness.
Wow.
Welcome to the Resilience FilePodcast.
I am so happy that you are here.
Whoa, that was soheart-wrenching and cinematic
and just intimate, and I canfeel like it's a movie.
SPEAKER_01 (05:41):
And first off, how are you doing today?
Hi, thank you so much for havingme.
I'm excited to be here.
I'm doing well today.
It's a little chilly out, but Iam getting through the storm.
SPEAKER_00 (05:50):
So yeah, you're in the cold part of New York.
SPEAKER_01 (05:54):
Woo! Yes, chilly New York.
SPEAKER_00 (05:56):
Yes, girl.
Wow.
Well, I mean, your essay was sobeautiful.
And uh, I just really appreciateyou just trusting us with that.
The way you describe many thingsabout learning to pretend and
learning to adapt quietly toyour situation, but not a
situation, something you wereblessed with.
I mean, I feel like it's ablessing to have these like
(06:17):
crazy superhero powers.
That's what I'm gonna call ittoday, okay?
Because blindness to some peoplemight look as like, you know,
not a superpower.
I mean, we're gonna, of course,talk about the uncomfortable
parts of being diagnosed withyour blindness.
But today, I wanna grant you, ifyou allow me to, but no
pressure, that you were able tolike have this unique thing that
(06:40):
other people can't evenexperience.
And as crazy as it sounds, likethe world, most of the world may
never understand what you'veexperienced, but then also you
get to experience what most ofthe world never experienced, and
you can't even explain it.
It's gonna come back to me.
But I just say in my eyes, Iwork on a lot of Marvel stuff.
I feel like you're a superhero.
And as I read your essay, Ireally feel like you're a
(07:00):
superhero.
I wanna go back into how youlearn to adapt quietly and
finding a home in the arts andlike all of that.
It's incredibly moving.
I want to start at thebeginning.
SPEAKER_01 (07:12):
Sure.
So I guess to kick things offwhere it all started, um, when I
was young, I really didn't havethat well of an understanding of
I guess what was going on.
Um you would say.
It started off like littlethings here and there.
Like I noticed in the dark, likeI couldn't get up the staircase,
like when it was dark, becauseI'm night blind.
So I would ask, you know, myparents to help me help me get
up the stairs.
(07:32):
I'm scared, I can't see.
They're like, what do you mean?
Like, are you scared like of theghost or the monster?
Like, you know, any otherfive-year-old.
Like, you would assume they'rescared of, you know, Bigfoot
upstairs.
But I was like, no, like I can'tsee to get up the staircase.
Just little things like that,like not being able to see in
class, like not being able totell what time it was.
So to me, that's kind of likehow I was perceiving what was
(07:54):
going on.
And I guess probably to myparents, they were wondering,
like, what is going on?
Or my teachers, and that's kindof when like the red flag went
up.
Um, and yeah, I would saybecause my vision disorder is
progressive, like it got worseover like from kindergarten to
third grade.
I remember it was just like asteep dive down.
And yeah, so from there theykind of noticed, and then they
(08:16):
they made me get some testing,they got me help, and they
realized what it was, and then Ikind of grew to understand from
there.
Um, yeah, just from hearingeverything around me.
SPEAKER_00 (08:25):
Wow.
Thank you for sharing that.
So you um and when you sayyou're night blind, can you
explain the difference foranybody that doesn't understand
the world of blindness or um asense of eyesight?
What is the difference betweencompletely blind, night blind,
day blind?
Sure.
SPEAKER_01 (08:41):
So um if you were to turn a light off in your room,
um, I have heard that peoplecould see where things are
around the room.
For me, it is just like if youwere to close your eyes, it's
pitch black.
Um, so yeah, that's how I wouldexplain it.
SPEAKER_00 (08:53):
Okay.
Completely makes sense.
How did it feel navigatingschool and the world that
technically it wasn't built forblind people originally?
SPEAKER_01 (09:05):
It was difficult.
I've adjusted a lot.
Now I feel like I'm pretty usedto it.
But at first, I mean things likedriving, I can't drive, reading
signs like I was mentioning,menus, restaurants, things like
that.
And I are not super compatible,but thank God for the phone,
like I'll just look up a menuahead of time, or whoever I'm
out with, like, I'll be like,read me, like, read me the menu
like now.
Like, you know, before I go upand order.
(09:27):
But um, yeah, I mean there'sdefinitely adjustments I've had
to make.
And like I said, when I wasyounger, it felt bigger than I
think in reality, maybe it was,or I guess it is a big deal.
SPEAKER_00 (09:36):
No, it was it definitely was a big deal
because let's be real, like whenwe go to school, like everything
is definitely built for um, it'sbuilt to see, it's built to use,
it's built to like in and whenyou can see, you're right, you
are criticized because some onepart of your essay you were like
the doctor was like, No, likeliterally, like open your eyes,
or like I'm being serious, andhe's getting more angry with you
(09:57):
thinking that you were jokinglyplaying, and in school, kids
jokingly play about not beingable to see or do this or that,
but that was a true reality foryou.
And how would do you rememberthe conversation your parents
had with your school or yourteachers?
Did they make things accessiblefor you?
SPEAKER_01 (10:12):
So, yes, and it took a lot to get there.
So, in elementary school, Ithink the younger you are, the
more willing people are to workwith you because when you're
little, it's cute.
So, when I was little, it wascute, and I think it was more
like, oh, the cute little blindgirl needs to learn how to cross
the street and you know, do thebraille paperwork.
As I got to high school,originally I went to a private
(10:33):
high school, and they were like,Well, if you need an iPad, like
we have an exclusive deal withanother laptop company that
doesn't make the font larger.
So maybe this just isn't theenvironment for you.
And unfortunately, I had toleave that high school.
Yeah, which was kind of rude.
But some people not asaccommodating.
As you get older, people areless willing to work with you,
(10:54):
and that's kind of I think whereI learned to put my foot down
and be like, this is actuallywhat's gonna happen.
You're kind of just gonna agreewith me, or else, you know what
I mean.
SPEAKER_00 (11:03):
Yeah, absolutely.
And yeah, shame on that school.
Education is for everyone, itdoesn't matter like what
limitations, abilities,disabilities, whatever you have.
Shame on that school, and I hopethey got their stuff together
now because that's wrong.
How did it also feel navigatinglike your friendships at the
time, like letting people know,or did you keep it a secret?
SPEAKER_01 (11:21):
So I actually found as I got older, I kept it a
secret a lot more.
When I was younger, becauseeveryone I was in school with
saw me using all like thisadaptive technology and having
like the special teachers comein.
Like I think everyone knew, likeit was impossible to keep it a
secret.
Now I think because I adaptedmore like on my own, and I don't
have like, you know, a castingcrew of people coming to help me
(11:42):
anymore, it's easier for me tokeep like low-key unless it
comes up in conversation, whichI'm totally comfortable with at
this point.
SPEAKER_00 (11:49):
For the kid that may be listening today, and they may
be like having a new diagnosisof finding out that they're
blind or, you know, some type oflimitation or disability while
they're navigating school.
Do you have any advice for thatkid?
Or how did you feel like youadapted over time?
I know you said it was youdidn't tell people more like in
high school.
(12:09):
Did you just tell them out ofnot wanting to be singled out,
or did you just wanted people toreally just get to know you as
the person you were besides yourlimitation at that moment?
SPEAKER_01 (12:19):
So that's what I think it is.
It's more of when people hearthat you have a disability or
something a little different.
I don't think it's intentional.
I try to give people the benefitof the doubt, but they kind of
other you like in their mind.
Like they'll put you in a box,like, oh, like the disabled
person.
And then whenever you achievesomething, it's like, wow, look
what they did, like despiteblah, blah, blah.
(12:40):
And I always hated that.
Like, I just wanted to achievethings on my own and be like, oh
wow, she did that because she'ssmart, or she did that because
she worked hard.
Like, I didn't want it to bebecause I was blind and look
what I did.
Like, yeah, because I do think,you know, aside from some slight
differences, we are still allhumans, and I I think it's a
little ridiculous.
Like, I know I guess there's adifference in the way I went
(13:01):
about it, but I still achievedsomething just like anyone else
would.
SPEAKER_00 (13:04):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (13:04):
So I almost hated being like coddled in a way.
SPEAKER_00 (13:07):
100%.
That makes completely completesense.
And that's a good um good pointto make for people that are
listening today.
You know, acknowledge people forthe work that they've done,
despite their limitations,abilities, and abilities,
disabilities, whatever it is,that they've done the hard work
because they are actually smart,because they actually did the
work, and we shouldn't discountanyone based on anything.
(13:32):
I appreciate that you said that.
You all talked about pretendinga lot, laughing, nodding,
blending in.
When did you realize that thathas become something that you
were using as a maskingmechanism?
Oh, I mean, honestly, I still doit today.
SPEAKER_01 (13:45):
If someone were to show me something on their
phone, and let's say it's just avery like low effort
conversation, or like just lookat this like TikTok I saw, and
this is where I notice ithappening most.
Just like if I see themlaughing, I'll just laugh along
with it.
I have no idea what the heck isgoing on.
But I'm just like, oh my god,like you know, ha ha.
And um, yeah, usually it works.
I mean, I've never had anyonequestion it.
(14:06):
Um, but I 10 times out of 10never know what's on that
screen, unless it's like reallylike one of my best friends.
And I'm like, give me thatphone, and I'm like zooming in
on it.
But yeah, like casually out withlike friends I see once in a
while or something.
I'll just I'll I let it slide,which you know.
SPEAKER_00 (14:21):
Wow, yeah, that's so interesting.
It actually makes a point too,even for these apps to be more
accessible.
How could an app be moreaccessible for a person that is
blind?
Like what capabilities wouldhelp you?
SPEAKER_01 (14:33):
What I would love to see from TikTok and Instagram is
an accessibility feature whereyou can make other people's
captions bigger, or like onTikTok, if the font of a video,
let's say, is smaller.
You know how they havetranslations like for different
languages?
I would love if they could justmake it like in the same
language but larger.
Um, so just an idea.
But yeah, whatever.
(14:53):
I love that.
SPEAKER_00 (14:54):
Hey girl, look, you might be having a side job right
now.
You could um start doingaccessibility services for some
of these apps.
I need to, I'm gonna advocatefor you myself, but they
definitely need more differentcommunities to talk about this.
TikTok and Instagram, if you'relistening, this is for you.
YouTube as well.
So let's get into you startedacting and the playing the
(15:17):
piano, it became your sanctuary.
Why do you think art felt safefor you in your everyday life?
SPEAKER_01 (15:22):
I think art felt safe for me mostly because the
people that I was around made ita very comfortable space for me.
My piano teacher growing up, Ihad him for over like a decade.
Um, and he knew my situation.
He never made me feel bad aboutit.
Um, if my playing was bad, itwas bad, and he just told me how
it was, and I really appreciatedthat.
Um with my acting.
And I think a part of the artsthat as a blind person I really
(15:45):
appreciate is that I have theopportunity to rehearse, and the
final product doesn't look anydifferent, if that makes sense.
Yes.
There's something to that that Ireally appreciate because you
can't tell the difference onceeverything's said and done.
SPEAKER_00 (15:59):
Yeah, I love that.
You mentioned something withyour piano teacher not having,
you know, not limiting you toyour disability, and they were
very much like if you like yousaid, if you suck, you sucked,
if you were good, you were good.
Um question for you would be doyou feel that it is necessary or
do you feel that it's a um whatis the word?
(16:21):
Is it a setback for people toallow someone with a disability
such as blindness, you know, alittle bit more time or a crutch
to lean on while navigatingtheir disability and exploring
something new like that?
SPEAKER_01 (16:36):
No, I think that everybody deserves to have
leniency and especiallydepending on the disability, I
think that people learn andadapt differently.
So the way that I was able toplay piano was a lot by
listening and just repeatingwhat I've heard.
But let's say if someone doesn'thave that skill or they're more
visual and they can't hear aswell, then I think things would
definitely have to be adjusted.
(16:56):
But once I had my my systemdown, I guess, then at that
point, I feel like if you havekind of your flow and you know,
you know, how you're gonna goabout learning things, then I
think it's fair game at thatpoint.
But to get to that point's adifferent story.
SPEAKER_00 (17:08):
I love that.
Wow.
Thank you for sharing that.
What do you think creativitygave you that it other people
couldn't give?
SPEAKER_01 (17:14):
That's a good one.
Something creativity gave methat other people couldn't give
me.
Honestly, just freedom ofthought and expression.
I think for me, it's a loteasier to I know I'm talking a
lot now, but it's a lot easierfor me to communicate um through
music and I think through likeart more than it is like to just
be up front and say thingssometimes.
(17:34):
So I do appreciate like, youknow, a way of freedom of
expression.
It's nice.
SPEAKER_00 (17:39):
I love that.
I want to shift into identity.
When did you stop seeingyourself as different?
SPEAKER_01 (17:44):
Probably late middle school years to high school
years, I really stopped caring.
And I don't know if I totallyever saw myself as completely
not different.
Like fundamentally, I realized,okay, I think I'm like really
emphasizing way too much on thisone aspect of my life.
Like, I need to not move on fromit, but in a way, sort of like
(18:04):
move past this and like youknow, time to time to snap out
of it.
SPEAKER_00 (18:07):
Um what do you think at that time during middle
school?
What helped you reclaim yoursense of worth and identity?
SPEAKER_01 (18:14):
I'm not quite sure.
Um I think I just found a lot ofpersonal hobbies and interests.
Like I was starting to enjoyschool more as I was getting
used to adapting with the way Isaw things.
So maybe there was arelationship between me almost
having practiced like how towork around the environment and
stuff, like not being able tosee, and then gaining
confidence.
(18:35):
I wouldn't be surprised ifthat's what it was, but I never
quite put my finger on it.
SPEAKER_00 (18:38):
Well, I think like even you lose yourself in things
that you love and you reallytruly find yourself and then the
things that are strengths.
You know how some people saywhen you lose one sense of
sight, then your hearingincreases, or if you lose
hearing, then your taste touchincreases.
Did that happen for you?
SPEAKER_01 (18:56):
Yes, I'm literally I'm laughing because I was the
second you said about the sense,I was gonna say my hearing is
insane, people tell me comparedto the way that I see.
I could hear my parents likewhen they're around, like from
down the block when I waslittle, I'd be like, like, are
you talking about me?
Like I'd be in my room and theywere like downstairs in the
kitchen.
I'm like, who are you on thephone with?
(19:16):
Like, what are you saying aboutme?
And they're like, How do youknow?
Like, what we're saying.
They're like, Stopeavesdropping.
So, yes.
SPEAKER_00 (19:23):
I love that.
That's so funny.
Um, you talked about advocacadvocacy and purpose and where
you are now.
I think you chose public health,right?
SPEAKER_01 (19:32):
Yeah, I didn't.
SPEAKER_00 (19:32):
Why public health?
I love public health.
SPEAKER_01 (19:35):
I think there's a lot of different things that you
could do with it, andspecifically advocacy.
My focus was global health.
So it's looking at a lot ofdifferent, you know, like
resources, like where like whatwe could do to help different
areas, like specific needs.
Like, I guess, for example, alot of the work I've done is in
mental health.
So the majority, the bulk of mywork in graduate school was
(19:56):
global mental health.
So that's really what I did.
I focused on in my time.
SPEAKER_00 (20:00):
As you are navigating public health, has
have you been able to advocateor help with any of the
initiatives around likeincreasing accessibility for
people that are blind?
SPEAKER_01 (20:09):
So, not blindness specifically.
I have not had the opportunityto work with any other disabled
people.
I actually have not even metanother blind person in my life.
But fingers crossed, one day itwill happen.
Um I've worked a lot with umdomestic violence, women
experiencing like homeless list,uh homelessness that need to go
to shelters.
I was volunteering for a shelterfor a bit.
(20:31):
Yeah, I worked um global mentalhealth in Nepal.
I did some outreach for them.
I did like um a courseadaptation because they have a
lot of like stigma around there.
So just different things inmental health, but never
specifically disability,although I would love to do that
one day.
SPEAKER_00 (20:45):
And one of the questions I meant to ask at the
beginning, because I know a lotof people will like message and
ask this later, were yourfamily, was anyone in your
family fine as well?
SPEAKER_01 (20:54):
No.
So my parents both have they'reboth like carriers for the
disease.
Um, and I guess it was a perfectstorm, so I I have it now.
But before them having like thecarrier gene, I don't think
anyone else actually had thisspecific disorder.
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (21:10):
And do you have any children now?
No, I don't.
Just a dog.
That's a kid too, girl.
Um a soft, nice, cuddly kid.
Um, I love that.
And if you could talk to youngerGia right now, what would you
tell her?
SPEAKER_01 (21:25):
I would tell her honestly, just not to care
anymore.
Um, I know it's kind of blunt,but I think that's probably what
I needed at the time.
Yeah.
I think if I would have gottenout of my head and would have
just learned to enjoy, despite,you know, I mean, the truth is
that to me this felt very big.
And in a way it was, but so manypeople have their own things
(21:45):
going on in life.
Like, I think when you'relittle, you don't realize like
you're not the only one that'sgoing through something.
Like you need to just take adeep breath and kind of like let
it let it be.
So that's the advice I wouldgive myself.
SPEAKER_00 (21:58):
So sweet, younger Gia.
I am so, I'm so proud of youabout your courage.
I'm proud of you for pushingthrough.
I'm proud of you for not onlyjust you accepted, you know, the
diagnosis, but you decided tonot let it limit you who have
done the arts and piano andfinding places to be.
If someone's listening todaythat feels invisible or they
(22:19):
feel different or they feel liketheir blindness is limiting
them, what would you say tothem?
SPEAKER_01 (22:23):
Don't.
There's always somewhere outsomeone out there.
Like I met you through a calland then I ended up on a
podcast.
There's always someone that'swilling to listen.
Turns out there's a lot ofpeople that are willing to
listen that I never knew.
And to anyone else out there,I'm willing to listen.
And there's definitely morepeople that are too.
So never feel that way.
SPEAKER_00 (22:41):
I love that.
Gia, how can we follow up withyou if people are interested in
following your journey and yourarts and you playing the piano
and your public health work?
What is the best way of stayingin contact?
SPEAKER_01 (22:52):
Sure.
So you could reach out to me onInstagram.
It's Gia.burnhart, my first andlast name.
Or you could also find myYouTube channel.
I believe it's Chow, it's Gia.
Those are all my old pianovideos from when I was little.
So have fun with that.
But Instagram would be the mostdirect way.
SPEAKER_00 (23:06):
Gia, you're amazing.
Your story matters.
Thank you so much for trustingus with it.
And I'm sure it's going todefinitely help someone that's
listening today.
So if you're here listeningtoday, I hope that you are
inspired by Gia's story.
Hello, Gia.
Watch your play piano on YouTubeor even just follow her along on
her journey.
And this has been the ResilienceFouse Podcast Unlocked.
(23:26):
If you need some love today,we're sending you love.
If you need a hug today, we sendyou a virtual hug.
I hope this episode moved youand inspired you.
And stay tuned for the nextepisode.
Thank you so much.
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