Now I know everyone gets lost even people with sight, but there is just something spectacular about getting so lost that you can’t even find where you were going or where you came.

Let me preface this with a bit of an explanation: My parents enjoy showing dogs, and when my brother and I were younger we had to tag along with them (which was alright given the fact we were allowed to play games for hours). One particular one that sticks into my memory is getting utterly lost at an outside show one time:

At a certain age we all get it in our heads that we can do things on our own, and so… that’s exactly what I got into my head when I needed to use the bathroom at the show. Instead of having my fully sighted brother show me how to get to the bathrooms (which were porta-potties so it wasn’t a case of just going to a building). I decided I could do it. Well needless to say… that didn’t work out well.

I managed to get so completely lost I didn’t even find the bathrooms. I tried then to go back to get my brother’s help, but… I couldn’t find that either. At this point (since I was only around eight) I was very upset. Some very nice people showed me where the bathroom was then took me to the announcement table so that they could call for my mother (who was also wondering were on earth I’d gone at this point).

One thing I learned from that experience was the need to landmark. What is a landmark? Well a landmark is simply a tool that you can use to easily figure out where you are. So a landmark in essence is a bread crumb (think Hansel and Gretel), but unlike bread crumbs the best landmarks are the ones that aren’t going to be taken away.

What makes up your landmark depends on where you are, but even though I said landmarks are like bred crumbs you should try to avoid using something that might move. If you say the car is parked next to the white car in the parking lot, well that white car might not be there next time you come, but if you remember that the car was two parking spaces from the end you’ll be able to find it.

It should also be something easily recognizable and unique. During my second year of university I had to spend the second semester in a hotel because of a flood in my residence building. At first I had to ask the bus driver where to get off, but after a while I recognized a building that was always across the street from the bus stop so every time I saw that building I knew to get off.

The best advice I can give is find your own landmarks. I find that if someone tells me about a landmark it’s harder for me to remember it. If you notice something interesting on your way then that is what you should use as a landmark. What you notice is far different than what someone else might notice.

Have as many bread crumbs as you want and as few as you need. You can never have too many land marks for one route. As long as you have enough to tell you where you are, where you’re going and where you came you’re good.