B1 – Intermediate
You really don’t have to subscribe to the life that was written for you.
– Allan Hennessy
He is not your ordinary guy. Mediocrity is not the way to describe him. Disability did not overtake his life.
Watch the video to get a glimpse of Allan Hennessy’s life.
Discussion Questions:
1. Describe Allan Hennessy.
2. What are his challenges and how did he overcome them?
3. What is his life story about?
4. What lessons did you learn from his life?
5. Have you ever broken free from labels and stereotypes?
11 replies on “Blind Cambridge Law Degree Holder”
1. Describe Allan Hennessy.
Allan Hennessy is a disabled refugee with a first class Cambridge law degree.
2. What are his challenges and how did he overcome them?
His story is about how to free yourself from labels and stereotypes that because of your looks, physique, origin ,.. Society assigns you and how to do things that other people do and not submit to the life that has been written for you
3. What is his life story about?
His family moved to London seeking asylum after the Gulf War.
He grew up on a London state council
He came to the UK with his father when he was 6 months old, he was totally blind.
He came in for eye surgery and they restored sight in one eye. Since then, he’s been outdoing himself
4. What lessons did you learn from his life?
I think that the lasts word of the video summarize all: “You really don´t have to subscribe to the life that has been written for you”
5. Have you ever broken free from labels and stereotypes?
I think that the people that leave his born city to found job and survive in other place must broken some stereotypes associated to his social class or community of born
Appreciate the time you put into writing your responses.
Here is sentence you can edit:
Until your next one!
1. Describe Allan Hennessy.
Allan is a blind Muslin refuse who was graduate in the Law university in London. We was born in Baghdad in 1995 and he came to London with his father with he was 6 months old.
2. What are his challenges and how did he overcome them?
He was always degiant in the face of his disability.
He wanted to breaking free from thoses labels he never apologised for defying the disabled stereotype.
3. What is his life story about?
It is about the fact that having a disabilily is not an impediment to achieving everything you do not set out to do.
4. What lessons did you learn from his life?
To take all the confidence, self love and self-worth to realise that you are capable. You have every right to leave your lane and do things that other people do.
5. Have you ever broken free from labels and stereotypes?
I think so. I have been breaking stereotypes as I get older.
Good job on your answers. Thank you for writing them here.
Take a look at how this sentence can be written in a bit better way:
Keep writing!
1. Describe Allan Hennessy.
Allan is a blind muslim refugee. He is bawdy, he is filrtatious, he is smart, and he is social.
2. What are his challenges and how did he overcome them?/ 3. What is his life story about?
When he came to the UK he was six and he was totally blind. He got an operation to restore his eyes he had his sight restored in one eye. Since then he has always lived like the others doing everything that he wanted to.
4. What lessons did you learn from his life?
That we don’t have to set limits to ourself and that if we have motivation enough we are able to do incredible things.
5. Have you ever broken free from labels and stereotypes?
I’m an engineer. When I started my studies it was a degree where men were the majority. I think that in some way I broke free from labels by studing what was not considered a women’s degree
Good work with your answers.
Here is a better structure of this sentence:
Keep practicing your writing skills to improve more and more.
1. Describe Allan Hennessy.
Allan is a blind Muslim refugee who grew up on a London Council estate. He is bawdy, smart, social, flirtatious…
2. What are his challenges and how did he overcome them?
His challenges are he never felt different to any of the other kids. Got one of her top marks in his year at one of the world’s best university. Self-worth to realize that you are capable.
3. What is his life story about?
His life story is about self-improvement.
4. What lessons did you learn from his life?
The lessons that I learnt from his life is that all is possible if you want and there are no limits.
5. Have you ever broken free from labels and stereotypes?
I think so. During the life, sometimes we have labels and stereotypes but with the years we broke with all this levels.
Good work writing your answers to the questions on this lesson.
1. Describe Allan Hennessy.
Allan is blind but not totally. Is we dismiss this, Allan is a person that he search to enjoy the life like everybody.
2. What are his challenges and how did he overcome them?
He fight versus the disabled stereotypes and the diary walls.
He overcome this situations with confidence, self-love and self-worth.
3. What is his life story about?
Self-acceptation and overcoming.
4. What lessons did you learn from his life?
All is possible if you want.
5. Have you ever broken free from labels and stereotypes?
I feel lucky because I am a white boy without physical dissabilty and in the world this is important to the perspective of many people. This is very sad an a crap mentality.
But yes, I have labes and maybe I don’t broke with all this labels.
You are doing well. Continue with this writing exercise and see improvements in your writing later on.
You can still improve this sentence “But yes, I have labes and maybe I don’t broke with all this labels.” by writing it this way:
1. Describe a Allan Hennessy.
Allan es un refugiado de Irak y es ciego. Es muy inteligente, optimista, social y ha obtenido el mejor título en Cambridge.
2. ¿Cuáles son sus desafíos y cómo los superó?
Es ciego y quiere vivir una vida normal, como los demás. Ha practicado muchas actividades emocionantes como puenting.
3. ¿De qué trata la historia de su vida?
Llegó a Inglaterra cuando tenía 6 meses con su padre. Estaba totalmente ciego, pero más tarde fue operado.
4. ¿Qué lecciones aprendiste de su vida?
No debemos pensar que la gente tiene límites si no conocemos sus logros.
5. ¿Alguna vez se ha liberado de etiquetas y estereotipos?
Cada día. Soy informático pero trato de no parecer un friki. Soy lesbiana y “no llevo uniforme”