"Inner Vision"
Just because a man lacks the use of his eyes
doesn't mean he lacks vision." - Stevie Wonder
Of all the senses, I'm not sure why I chose to photograph sight, the weakest of my own senses.
I love food; taste would have been a fun capture. With all of the noise makers in my world - dogs, cats, music - hearing would have been easy. I thought about stopping at the store on my way home from school and buying flowers, particularly nice smelling flowers. And touch, with all the yarn of differing textures that I have in my stash, would have been a breeze as well. I chose none of these.
As I made my way home thinking about whether or not to stop for flowers, I was struck with the realization that I needed to photograph sight. Perhaps this is because I had been reading a book about the photographer's vision during lunch earlier in the day. Whatever the reason, I was drawn to photographing sight and I could not resist the pull.
As I think about this now, perhaps this image is the picture of acceptance. Being legally blind is not really something that you overcome; it is something that you learn to accept, accept in a positive way. Sure, there are lots of things that I can't do, but there are things that sighted people can't do either. More importantly, there are lots of things that I can do. Some of them I can even do competently. To accept any kind of disability, one has to learn that she herself must be the one to define her boundaries and limitations. Not someone else. Not society.
She must have a vision for herself.
In the words of Helen Keller,
"It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision."
