I was very little at the time I discovered that not everyone was blind. It was a rather astounding discovery. My brother and I were playing a game where one of us would throw a baseball, and the other would catch it. It was fun! I kept throwing the ball at my brother, and he would run around catching it, no matter what direction I threw it.

Then it was my turn to catch the ball. At first, I usually caught the ball. It was easy. Then, things started to change. I kept missing the ball. It would fly right past me and land somewhere far off. Eventually I'd find it, because I had heard where it had fallen. Then, I got mad at my brother.

"Jeremy, throw the ball at me!"

"I am. You kept throwing it all funny, so now it's my turn."

"How did you hear the ball so good?"

"I saw where the ball went. Look at the ball."

"I can't!"

I ran to my mother and demanded to know why Jeremy was good at catching the ball and I wasn't. She did a lot of explaining about how my eyes didn't work right and couldn't see things like Jeremy's. She explained in a simplified version that Jeremy and I were twins and born prematurely. While in the incubator, I was given the same amount of oxygen as my brother, but for some reason, it was too much for me, and in the process, it damaged the retinae of my eyes.

I had heard this before, but that day, it took on a new meaning. I couldn't see things like everyone else. I could only hear, smell, taste, and touch things. I was sad that I couldn't do what others could. It wasn't fair. I also wondered what it would be like to see. I imagined it would be like feeling things, but with your eyes.

Now, I don't mind being blind. If the opportunity ever presented itself, however, I would gladly undergo whatever operation to have my sight. Until then, I'll keep on living the happy and successful life I have been living for 18 years. tAe