If you could switch lives with a famous person for a week, who would it be and why?

If I could switch lives with a famous person for a week, I would switch lives with Annie Sullivan. She passed away 1936 at 70 years old, but if I could go back in time, I would switch lives with her for a week.

Annie Sullivan was a remarkable teacher and companion for a six year old whose life was filled with isolation, destruction, and suffering. Helen Keller was born in June of 1880. She was born blind and deaf. Her mother and father tried their best to cope with having a disabled child, unfortunately they were feeding her isolation and destructive behavior.

Annie Sullivan was partially blind herself, and came into Helen’s life at a time when her parents were considering putting Helen in an institution. 

Helen was a willful child and Annie used that rebellious behavior to turn Helen’s life around. Refusing to give up on her temper tantrums and teach her how to navigate her life skills with strength and determination. 

She worked with her strong will and taught her to use that strength to overcome her suffering. She taught Helen language and what words mean. She taught her self-control and how to ask what she needed, but most of all, she taught Helen love and trust and gave her hope for her future. 

I would have loved to switch lives with her during the week that Annie finally broke through and Helen began to understand. I would have loved the feeling of pride that she must have felt for both her and Helen. 

I have always been a stubborn person. I don’t know if it is because I have Irish roots or if it was just my own darkness that I am conquering each and every day, but I can relate to that stubbornness in both Annie and Helen.

While I am not blind or deaf, I have my own limitations and struggles. Our disabilities, whatever they are, don’t define us. It’s what we do with them and the choices we make on our own journey that define us. 

Helen and Annie could have just given up and accepted a life of pain and despair, but Annie fought for Helen when nobody could until Helen could fight for herself. 

As someone who has become a mother to me says, “I am holding your hope until you can hold it for yourself,” Annie held Helen’s hope until she could hold it for herself. Sometimes, we need that special person who comes in our lives and holds our hand while we learn to walk independently.