Zheng Danyi, 26, a visually impaired piano teacher at Jiangxi Zhongshan Dance School in Nanchang, Jiangxi province

When I was born in 1992 in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, I could see very little. Therefore, I never attended mainstream schools like other girls. Instead, I was enrolled at a local blind school in 1999.

In such schools, the students are usually raised with the understanding that they are bound to become masseurs as adults. As a result, the teachers did not press us to study academic subjects like in mainstream schools. When I reached 15, I began to learn massage, and three years later I began to intern at a street massage parlor.

The experience convinced me that I did not want to be a masseur. The job is exhausting, and it seemed like I never got off work. I had to be ready whenever a guest showed up, and I had no sense of progress. In addition, I've heard many cases of female practitioners being sexually harassed.

Luckily, I learned piano as a child, despite my poor eyesight. My parents were super-supportive of my choice and I had a really nice teacher.

In 2010, when I heard that a special college at Beijing Union University enrolled visually impaired candidates for music studies, I hesitated because I had concerns about the course.

Finally, though, I decided to give it a shot. I thought that in the worst-case scenario I could quit my studies and go back to working at a massage parlor. I felt that if I didn't try, I would be trapped. Colleagues at the massage parlor did not understand when I prepared for exams during breaks, but I made it!

When I graduated, I went back to Nanchang and worked as a piano tuner for two years. The experience helped me find a job as a piano teacher at a local vocational school.

Sometimes I feel pressure because I am the only disabled teacher on campus, and I haven't obtained a teaching qualification because the exam has strict physical health requirements.

I wish the government would lift the health restrictions and allow people like me to obtain proper qualifications because they are a prerequisite for many professions.

Zheng Danyi spoke with Li Lei.