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

I found myself thinking of my friendships recently — in particular my elementary to high school days and how earnestly my educational support team would want me to make friends with other children and “develop socially” or “learn social skills.” Many things were put in place, such as being told I couldn’t stick around the outside of the school building, having my books taken away, being put in resource groups with other disabled children. But my least favourite was the buddy system.

In April of 2021 I was matched with my first Seeing Eye dog, and the process was not just all smiles and wags. In fact, there were times throughout the training process I firmly believed I would not be going home with a dog, and it wasn’t until much later in my partnership with my dog that we began finding our way and loving each other. Now, my heart belongs to this sassy bouncy girl and I would never go back as she is my entire world and my eyes in this beautiful big world we walk through.

Summer jobs are sort of a rite of passage for a lot of people. It symbolizes independence and being able to work to support yourself in addition to gaining valuable experience. As a university student, I have always been interested in working a summer job to help pay for my university expenses and to gain valuable work experience. However, I quickly noticed that my experience finding a summer job was vastly different from my peers.

Last year I went to the Dark Table Restaurant with a grade 11 Co-Op class from my school and I would like to talk about my experience and what I liked about the restaurant.

I really enjoyed going to a restaurant that is completely dark, because it gives sighted people the experience of how it feels to be blind. The waiters and waiteresses at the restaurant are all blind or visually impaired.