[Applause]
if I could actually see your faces right
now I’d probably be pretty nervous but I
can’t see our faces right now and I’m
not well I can tell that you’re here and
that you’re here but I can’t tell if
you’re old or young that’s because I’m
legally blind it happened since I was
born but it doesn’t really seem like a
disability to me
in fact from my perspective my life is
pretty normal but do you know what the
hardest thing for me to see limitations
it doesn’t faze me that sometimes I have
to work harder to do things I love like
running reading and snowboarding I’m
grateful to my parents have taught me
how to be strong and advocate for myself
in life they’ve taught me to advocate
for the tools that I need to see well
enough to accomplish my goals
it would’ve been easy for me to let many
circumstances defeat me but instead of
letting them defeat me I’ve chosen to
get inspired overcome them and break new
barriers my mission in life is inspire
others so they too can overcome their
challenges I want people to know that
they can advocate for themselves
I want people know that they can
overcome their challenges that they can
ask for and sometimes demand the tools
they need to succeed now let me tell you
a little bit about my vision I have a
rare genetic vision disorder called blue
cone monochromacy I’m sure many of you
have walked out of a dark Theater it’s a
bright day like before that temporary
blindness is how my eyes are affected
and even moderately bright light now all
of you have rods and red green and blue
cone photoreceptors in your retinas I
called my rods which means I can see
well in dim light but I’m missing 98% of
my photoreceptors I also have a rare
form of color blindness which means I
can’t distinguish red from black
orange from green and blue from pink as
a result my parents often tell me that
my clothing color combinations can be
quite creative now you may think that a
simple solution for this would be for me
to wear glasses or sunglasses well I do
wear magenta tinted glasses to help with
contrast issues in the classroom but
overall glasses just don’t help me see
far away or a normal sized print my
vision challenges although challenging
have helped me have a positive
perspective on life because every
challenge that was meant to mock me down
how to use to push myself back up and to
try that much harder for example I used
to play soccer soccer so much that my
dream was to one day play in the World
Cup I could really do some magic when I
had the ball under control and I’ll
always remember the time they scored
five goals in one game unfortunately
it’s time progressed the ball started to
go faster and I was unable to track it
for example the ball would go high up
into the sky
I’d try to look up and see it but the
brightness of the Sun but temporarily
blind me and when the ball came back
down it’d be gone that didn’t bode well
for lots of playing time and I spent a
lot more time than I wanted to sitting
on the bench I didn’t like being on that
bench so I took my speed to the track I
currently run for a competitive running
team competing in cross country and
track cross country does cater to my
vision a lot more than soccer did but it
does still present some challenges for
example sometimes the orange grown cones
can blend into the grass and with a herd
of runners surrounding me it’s like
running with a blindfold on and
sometimes rocks can look like shadows
and shadows can look like rocks as a
result I’ve fallen a few times but I
still love the exhilarating feeling of
running fast along a trail I really just
the tension off the line is quite
intense because I can’t really see where
my competitors are are they in front of
me or behind me but here’s what I can do
to tell where they are I can hear their
breaths the cheers of the crowd and
their footsteps on the track as the
turns and straightaways I can tell where
they are because the contrast between
the dark and light lines on the track is
great enough so I can see where to turn
and where it goes straight one across
the finish line it’s very satisfying to
know that my times are equaling or
surpassing the times of my fellow
competitors of the benefit of normal
vision I might have not been able to
make soccer work for me but I was able
to redirect my passion for competition
and I’ve recently achieved a personal
record of a sub 5 minute mile I like to
apply the sapote if I like to apply this
philosophy to life in general as well I
give my all and go for the win every
time another one of my passions is music
I first got interested in music when a
neighbor gave me his full-sized violin I
love that full-sized violin that was
almost bigger than me at the time
because I was 5 so my parents found a
very patient understanding and gifted
music teacher who taught me how to play
the violin by and large in my music
notes from this to this so I’d be able
to read them clearly she also taught me
how to play the piano by ear but most
importantly gennych in my music teacher
for 8 years made it easy for a visually
impaired kid to love music I then taught
myself how to play the ukulele now hold
my first job teaching the ukulele at the
Carlsbad Public Library and I’m also
currently learning the guitar last
summer
I competed in the Temecula kids Idol
competition singing don’t stop believin
I couldn’t really see the judges
expressions but in my eyes they’re
smiling
and encouraging me every step of the way
I’m proud of
say that I haven’t let my vision
disorder prevent me from excelling
academically as well in fact I’ve had to
learn to advocate for myself by asking
teachers to write with a different color
on the whiteboard I can’t see the one
that they’re currently using or to
enlarge the font on my homeworks and
tests I also use a magnifying device so
I can see the whiteboard from a distance
I’m proud to say that I haven’t let my
vision disorder as I said I’ve learned
to look at opportunities not limitations
in life and I want to inspire others
with or without a disability to take the
same approach I’ve already taken a step
in this direction by working with a
vision of Children Foundation which aims
to find cures for genetic vision
disorders and blindness I’m honored to
be spokesperson and vision hero for the
vision of Children Foundation piece
right here in San Diego I’d like to play
song that I collaborated on with my
producer Jason Bronner it’s called run
and blind and it’s my first original
song
[Music]
did you know all our heart of exactly
the same color you see ma when your eyes
no one knows or sandy or SWANA do what
you love won’t see what’s behind you
when you run so why not run through the
shadow run through your field run to
your heart run on faith that you can
turn cuz it’s so good to be run it’s
time to chase down lightning it’s time
to make your pain your gift impossible
just an opinion never dream starts with
run through your fears
run to your heart run on faith that you
can’t die cuz it’s okay to be running so
why not run through the shadow run
through your feet run to your heart run
on faith that you can’t
run by Weezy more when I eyes are
the next time that voice inside use says
something is beyond your reach
shut it down and take the steps to living a more fulfilled life thank you
if I could actually see your faces right
now I’d probably be pretty nervous but I
can’t see our faces right now and I’m
not well I can tell that you’re here and
that you’re here but I can’t tell if
you’re old or young that’s because I’m
legally blind it happened since I was
born but it doesn’t really seem like a
disability to me
in fact from my perspective my life is
pretty normal but do you know what the
hardest thing for me to see limitations
it doesn’t faze me that sometimes I have
to work harder to do things I love like
running reading and snowboarding I’m
grateful to my parents have taught me
how to be strong and advocate for myself
in life they’ve taught me to advocate
for the tools that I need to see well
enough to accomplish my goals
it would’ve been easy for me to let many
circumstances defeat me but instead of
letting them defeat me I’ve chosen to
get inspired overcome them and break new
barriers my mission in life is inspire
others so they too can overcome their
challenges I want people to know that
they can advocate for themselves
I want people know that they can
overcome their challenges that they can
ask for and sometimes demand the tools
they need to succeed now let me tell you
a little bit about my vision I have a
rare genetic vision disorder called blue
cone monochromacy I’m sure many of you
have walked out of a dark Theater it’s a
bright day like before that temporary
blindness is how my eyes are affected
and even moderately bright light now all
of you have rods and red green and blue
cone photoreceptors in your retinas I
called my rods which means I can see
well in dim light but I’m missing 98% of
my photoreceptors I also have a rare
form of color blindness which means I
can’t distinguish red from black
orange from green and blue from pink as
a result my parents often tell me that
my clothing color combinations can be
quite creative now you may think that a
simple solution for this would be for me
to wear glasses or sunglasses well I do
wear magenta tinted glasses to help with
contrast issues in the classroom but
overall glasses just don’t help me see
far away or a normal sized print my
vision challenges although challenging
have helped me have a positive
perspective on life because every
challenge that was meant to mock me down
how to use to push myself back up and to
try that much harder for example I used
to play soccer soccer so much that my
dream was to one day play in the World
Cup I could really do some magic when I
had the ball under control and I’ll
always remember the time they scored
five goals in one game unfortunately
it’s time progressed the ball started to
go faster and I was unable to track it
for example the ball would go high up
into the sky
I’d try to look up and see it but the
brightness of the Sun but temporarily
blind me and when the ball came back
down it’d be gone that didn’t bode well
for lots of playing time and I spent a
lot more time than I wanted to sitting
on the bench I didn’t like being on that
bench so I took my speed to the track I
currently run for a competitive running
team competing in cross country and
track cross country does cater to my
vision a lot more than soccer did but it
does still present some challenges for
example sometimes the orange grown cones
can blend into the grass and with a herd
of runners surrounding me it’s like
running with a blindfold on and
sometimes rocks can look like shadows
and shadows can look like rocks as a
result I’ve fallen a few times but I
still love the exhilarating feeling of
running fast along a trail I really just
the tension off the line is quite
intense because I can’t really see where
my competitors are are they in front of
me or behind me but here’s what I can do
to tell where they are I can hear their
breaths the cheers of the crowd and
their footsteps on the track as the
turns and straightaways I can tell where
they are because the contrast between
the dark and light lines on the track is
great enough so I can see where to turn
and where it goes straight one across
the finish line it’s very satisfying to
know that my times are equaling or
surpassing the times of my fellow
competitors of the benefit of normal
vision I might have not been able to
make soccer work for me but I was able
to redirect my passion for competition
and I’ve recently achieved a personal
record of a sub 5 minute mile I like to
apply the sapote if I like to apply this
philosophy to life in general as well I
give my all and go for the win every
time another one of my passions is music
I first got interested in music when a
neighbor gave me his full-sized violin I
love that full-sized violin that was
almost bigger than me at the time
because I was 5 so my parents found a
very patient understanding and gifted
music teacher who taught me how to play
the violin by and large in my music
notes from this to this so I’d be able
to read them clearly she also taught me
how to play the piano by ear but most
importantly gennych in my music teacher
for 8 years made it easy for a visually
impaired kid to love music I then taught
myself how to play the ukulele now hold
my first job teaching the ukulele at the
Carlsbad Public Library and I’m also
currently learning the guitar last
summer
I competed in the Temecula kids Idol
competition singing don’t stop believin
I couldn’t really see the judges
expressions but in my eyes they’re
smiling
and encouraging me every step of the way
I’m proud of
say that I haven’t let my vision
disorder prevent me from excelling
academically as well in fact I’ve had to
learn to advocate for myself by asking
teachers to write with a different color
on the whiteboard I can’t see the one
that they’re currently using or to
enlarge the font on my homeworks and
tests I also use a magnifying device so
I can see the whiteboard from a distance
I’m proud to say that I haven’t let my
vision disorder as I said I’ve learned
to look at opportunities not limitations
in life and I want to inspire others
with or without a disability to take the
same approach I’ve already taken a step
in this direction by working with a
vision of Children Foundation which aims
to find cures for genetic vision
disorders and blindness I’m honored to
be spokesperson and vision hero for the
vision of Children Foundation piece
right here in San Diego I’d like to play
song that I collaborated on with my
producer Jason Bronner it’s called run
and blind and it’s my first original
song
[Music]
did you know all our heart of exactly
the same color you see ma when your eyes
no one knows or sandy or SWANA do what
you love won’t see what’s behind you
when you run so why not run through the
shadow run through your field run to
your heart run on faith that you can
turn cuz it’s so good to be run it’s
time to chase down lightning it’s time
to make your pain your gift impossible
just an opinion never dream starts with
run through your fears
run to your heart run on faith that you
can’t die cuz it’s okay to be running so
why not run through the shadow run
through your feet run to your heart run
on faith that you can’t
run by Weezy more when I eyes are
the next time that voice inside use says
something is beyond your reach
shut it down and take the steps to living a more fulfilled life thank you
Please follow and like us: