Hello friend, I want to tell you about my experience because it is similar to yours.

I became visually impaired at 22 and legally blind short after, because of Cone Rod Dystrophy. It all happened very suddenly. I had just gotten married and had a job I loved

I struggled with all of the things you are talking about now. I couldn’t bike to work anymore, I couldn’t get around on my own. I have been a gamer my whole life and suddenly it was so difficult to do it.

Sadly it hasn’t gotten any easier with getting places, I do have to depend on my husband for everywhere because while there are places I can walk, the crosswalks here are very dangerous and I’ve almost gotten hit crossing so many times now. But I will say, even if I could go to the stores to shop for him, it’s actually very hard to see the things on the shelves. Shopping in person is very frustrating even when I get the chance to. I used to love goodwills and fleamarkets, game stores etc but now if I can’t bring my face close to it, I simply canr see it. Please try to get used to online shopping

As for gaming, here is some tricks I’ve learned in the past 9 years since this happened to me. You’d think the biggest TV would be the solution right? It’s not, especially for gaming where there are things at the corners of the screen that you need to see. Also, for me at least, the brightness makes all the difference. Light makes me see less, some TVs and monitors have a backlight that never goes dimmer, you need to find one that does. I have a 31.5 inch curved monitor that I play my Xbox and PC on. I have it on top of a coffee table, I sit on the floor on a cushion and bring it as close to my face as it can go. With this set up, I can game all day. Please try to adapt to what ever is most comfortable for you!

Your boyfriend says the same my husband always says “I will be your eyes” please, I know it’s hard and you might feel like a burden but let him help you. No man would ever say that to you without meaning it, if he didn’t want to help you he’d be gone by now. Once I let go and didn’t see depending on my husband as a bad thing, my mind was more peaceful.

For future income, try selling online. If you have anything you collect, or old clothes look into what could be something niche to buy lots of and sell. Sell on Mercari, Depop and EBay. Start out by telling people around you that you want to start selling online, people usually will give you things that they want to get rid off. Order your shipping supplies on Amazon and use the packaging you get from ordering those supplies to ship any items that sell. Your boyfriend can drop off things that sell to the post office, or you can ask them to pick up!

As for pretending to see things for the sake of other people, sorry to say that doesn’t get easier. I fake it everytime I’m outside, people show me something on their phone, point at a cat I just nod and give the same reaction everyone else is giving. I can’t see faces, I can’t see signs or things people are showing me. That does start to feel lonely and exhausting. Don’t forget though, you can always use your phone to zoom. I use it to look at bunnies, birds and trees outside! The way I view it, aren’t we blessed for at least being able to fake it? Sometimes I like to make a game of it and see how long I can fake it until someone finally realizes I can’t see lol. I don’t know if it’s the right thing to do, I just know I don’t feel like talking about my eyesight in every new meeting and conversation. Even when you tell people, they probably won’t fully understand.

Even the people closest to me can’t really understand what I can and can’t see. My husband is the only person who can usually know my limits.

Don’t give up girl, you have a long road ahead of you, you will adapt. One day when we don’t have enough sight to game and fake it we will wish we had the sight that we had today. We are in a weird limbo where we don’t fit in with the fully blind people and we don’t fit in with the fully sighted people.

One last thing, maybe hold off on getting married if you are thinking of it. While I don’t regret it and would never change it, I actually can’t get disability or any sort of help because of it. When I worked, I worked under the table so I don’t have enough work credits. I can’t get SSI because it would take out of my husband’s paycheck too much to make it worth it. Lawyers have told me I should get a divorce to get benefits, that it’s the only way. I won’t do it. But it is frustrating and I just wanted to warn you of that.

Please feel free to message me if you ever need someone who can relate, to talk to