For those friends with sight

I have always liked writing, it invites me and provokes me, even more, when it comes to sharing my singularity. I dedicate this blog to those friends and people who make the exception in our society and dare to see visual impairment differently. In the previous post, I shared a bit of these misconception that are created around the absence of sight. For example, the false idea that we cannot enjoy art because it is “visual”.

Now, I dedicate these lines to those who see beyond the lack of sight. I share a bit of my experience, I was always a girl who grew up in an environment where most of the time, I was the only one who lived with visual impairment. My classmates, friends, siblings,  parents, teachers of all kinds did see and it was fine.

Of course, there were always people who questioned my abilities, but the other side of the coin is that, throughout my life, I have had people who even forget that I do not see. When I say that they forget, I refer with enormous pleasure and relief since this allows relationships with these people to be formed from the possibility, from the person I am, from the difference. The relief of being recognized for what goes beyond not seeing. For example, my personality, my taste for going out, how happy or fun I can be, my tastes, etc.

On the other hand, one of the moments that I value and enjoy the most in the people around me is when they allow themselves to share their eyes with me. It is a very peculiar phrase to say "share your eyes", but for me, it is the best way to express in words the beautiful gesture of describing the world.

I write this line and I remember one of my very good and best friends, a person who met me without a background, without knowing my story and from the first time it was great because it allowed us to create a very close bond between the two and I remember her precisely because her way of describing the world to me is very objective and detailed. For example, she is the one whom I ask for the description of people, works of art, landscapes, etc.

Also, it is fascinating that each person has their unique way of describing what is visual. Not even among the members of my family, I can say that they do the same or similar.

Since I lost my sight, I have believed that receiving an audio description of something from someone is a huge advantage, I think of it as an opportunity to see with several pairs of eyes, to have different opinions apart from my own.

I am pleased to be able to share this since it is these moments, gestures, and people that make the world more accessible, more fun, and, without a doubt, livable.