Today I will talk on the subject of being an albino.   People around me ask, so what’s  it like to have albinism?  Some people think that albinism is a race, lol, I used to get that a lot as a child in school.  Kids would be like, are you from Albania?  I’d tell them no, that I was Korean and then they laugh at me and say , What you are from Crayon?  I guess I had a pretty strong Asian accent in elementary school.  Anyhow, so what’s it like being me.  Well to be honest I just have to be careful when I decide to go outside when it is above 68 degrees. When this happens I wear sun screen and a sun hat.  I also wear prescription sunglasses.  I do not use a walking stick nor do I have a seeing eye dog.  I have enough eye sight that I am too proud to use those things as of now.  Perhaps one day if I must I will. My eyes are very light sensitive and I have gone to great measures to protect them.  It all started as a child when my parents made sure they got me the best glasses they could find for me. They took me to low vision specialist all the time growing up.  I also wear glasses inside.  I have bifocals to help me read fine print, although now that I am older, it doesn’t seem to help too much.  I think my eyes may be getting a little worse with age.  My eye sight is corrected to 20-80 with glasses and without them it’s 20-400.  I am near sighted and I can actually see things a far off and not have them be blurry. I also have nystagmus which means my eyes move back and forth uncontrollably  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nystagmus  I also have a bit of a astigmatism.   I have very little peripheral vision and little depth perception.   I have to hold things close to read .  I am what they consider legally blind.  my eye sight can not be corrected because of the damage that has been done to the optic nerve.  It’s complicated, but hey, that’s me.

I don’t  have difficult time getting around in familiar territory but when I am in a new surrounding I get a little nervous, especially if it s outside.  I depend very much on my sense of hearing, and smell.  I know that sounds funny because I can see, but when you are visually impaired those other senses still make up for the lack of me being blind. I also color coordinate things all the time, put things in size order, and have a clutter free home.  I do not consider myself disable simply because I can do for myself and I can live independently without any assistance.  I think I may be over exaggerating a little because I have a husband who helps me out more then I know.  I can not drive, and I can not read fine print on my own. so finding a job is almost impossible.  My husband goes out of his way to make sure things are read to me out loud and holds my hand when we are walking in a parking lot, or crossing the street. My children help me too with a lot of things if I can ‘t see something.   I sometimes have to swallow my pride and ask for help and just be up front and tell people I am visually impaired.  I get embarrassed easily over my lack of eyesight, but for the most part I’m okay with it.  I am sure those who know me and have been around me know that I am visually impaired  And by the way, I do appreciate those who do know me personally don’t make a big deal of it either.  That means a lot to me.  More then you know.I do not make a big deal of being legally blind, but I don’t mind telling people the truth if they need to know or want to know on their terms.  I however,hate it when people feel sorry for me or treat me like I am disable or something

If you are wondering if I was made fun of as a child, the answer is yes.  I simply think it was because when a child see’s someone who is different they don’t know how to react to the situation.  I mean if I saw an albino for the first time, I am sure I would have lots of questions to ask.  However, when you live with a condition you sometimes put yourself in a bubble of protection and become offended by anyone who may want to sincerely know about your situation.  At least that is what I did.   I was very insecure and uncomfortable with my being an Albino until I went to collage. While I was there, I  met another lady who also had albinism. Her name was Jennifer and she became a very close friend to me. She made me realize that being an albino was not the end of the world, and that people will think what they will of you regardless if you are an albino or not.  She taught me how to be more confident and not so bitter.  I am forever grateful to her. She changed my life. In fact when I went to collage everyone thought we were sisters.  And in my eyes we were.    Now I have lots of friends who are albinos and I know that I am not the only one out there that lacks pigment in my hair,skin, and eyes.

So yeah being an albino is to me is not so abnormal.  It’s just who I am and I am grateful that my condition does not cause me physical pain.  When I was a child I allowed it to cause me emotional pain, but by the grace of God I am a changed person because of the choices I made in my life.  I know that I can be used of God no matter what type of physical condition I may be in, and to be quite honest, I am glad for how the Lord created me. So after reading this please don’t feel sorry for me, but celebrate with me that I am alive and well and that I can live a brilliant life and not have to feel sorry for myself.