If asked to name a character with albinism, who first comes to mind? The twins from The Matrix? “The Albino” from The Princess Bride? Or, God forbid, Silas from The Da Vinci Code? I don’t blame you if this is the case. The representation of people with albinism in mainstream media is so few and far between there isn’t much else to reach for. But before I go any deeper, let’s get the facts straight. There is nothing evil or magical about albinism.

On that first Zoom meeting where I remembered how to speak

Where the words came out easy and playful instead of cracked and uncertain

Where my timid jokes were laughed at

My half-baked ideas answered with a chorus of yes’s and I love that’s

Where I realized that maybe I was funny and friendly

And all of the things I never got to be in my regular life