Blindness.

Today, I met up with a friend in Berkeley to interview him for one of my assignments. I'm very appreciative that he would open up to me about his disabilities and how it affected his life. Among his disabilities, the most obvious is his blindness.

We chose to meet in Berkeley because he used to go to school there and is familiar with all the streets and buildings. It was natural for me to loop my arm around his to direct him away from obstacles. As we walked down Shattuck and Durant, I noticed people staring at his cane and then at us. Sometimes, I think it's easier to be blind because you wouldn't know people were looking at you. And then, I understood a bit of why it's so hard to have a disability. With the cane, the very thing that enables you to be more independent also makes others aware of your disability. Is almost seems as if you're taking two steps forward and one step back.

If only people knew that he actually knew his way around better than I did. I was only his eyes, but he was my guide. Isn't it strange to think that even though he was physically blind, there were others who were truly blind because of their assumptions? Maybe we'd see better if we closed our eyes and just listened.

Give me your eyes so I can see
Give me your eyes for humanity.