When I was eighteen, I couldn’t wait to get my first job, which meant I made the first step toward adulthood.

But it was difficult to get a work permit. One day I was dropped off by my parents at the ________, where applicants took their physical tests for work permits. Although I had night blindness, my vision was clearer during the day, which helped me walk easily by myself. Then the doctor began the ________. He looked into my eyes with a bright light. “I suggest your parents take you to an eye specialist,” he said, “I ________ you have a retinal (视网膜) disease. If you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. . . ”

My parents did take me to specialists. After much time and money spent seeking an ________ result, it was determined that I had an eye disease that slowly ________ a person of sight. But still, during daylight, I could walk without ________. I could read, but not for hours. My eyes began to ________ and words slipped off the page when I read more than a few pages. However, no matter how tired my eyes became, I never gave up reading. I knew the names of great writers as well as the most popular music stars. Their words were powerful, which ________ me to try writing. Soon writing brought me a lot of ________ each time I completed a paper.

Then an important phone call from an editor changed my life. An article I ________ appeared in a local newspaper. The newspaper, to my delight, continued to print my work. Next, a book series published several of my essays. I got interested in writing and ________ up with each acceptance. On the pages, readers never knew of my blindness ________ I chose to present it. For me, finding my voice through writing gave me the pride and satisfaction I ________ so many years ago. Now, I have numerous essays and articles in print.

Should I be thanking that misguided doctor? By falsely predicting that I could never work a day, he fueled my ________ into success. He set the bar too ________ and focused on what I wouldn’t be able to do. Yet I proved what I could do.