My name is Brooke Lynn Tousley. I was born on August 24th, 1996 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
I was also born blind.
I don't have a cane, I don't know how to read braille, and I don't have a sight dog.
Please don't blindfold me, I can't see.
I am a student at the University of Nevada, Reno; I bike ride, act, and write; I am editor in chief of a writing company. I graduated high school with an honors diploma. I made the Dean's list. I ride my bike to school. I participate in community service projects. I participate in local community theatre. I write because I have a voice.
Please don't blindfold my voice, I need it to be heard.
I am a daughter, a sister, a friend, and a believer; I see beauty, and ugliness, and I believe in having big sights for my future and for those around me. I drink water, not vinegar. I can purchase food at a grocery store on my own. I can cross streets, and even read, too. I am human, and I am blind.
Please don't blindfold my friends and family, I need them.
I am studying to be a social worker, to help those who have lost their sight for their future. I want to be a better person, and I want the world to be a better person, too. I believe in educating others on my sights, instead of shying away from them and letting them define me. I like to be judged by my abilities and not my disability. I will always sight my eyes on the biggest of dreams, even if they aren't so clear yet. I want to be treated as an equal because I am an equal.
Please don't blindfold my desires, I need them to succeed.
Unfortunately, people try and define my desires, and continue to build obstacles around blindness so we cannot succeed. The Foundation Fighting Blindness is one such organization. The Foundation has recently released a fundraising campaign, which asks people to put on a blindfold and preform a given task, in order to simulate “what blindness is "really" like.” As a result of these videos, people will see how difficult it is to be blind, and therefore, will donate money, which goes towards a cure for blindness. There have been videos where people drank vinegar, mistaking it for water; failing to purchase food at a fast-food chain; and one where it demonstrated a physical disconnect between a parent and their child, because obviously you have to see to love. In an age where parents are placed in tertiary custody rulings—having their kid taken from them—simply because they are blind. These are not the sights I have for myself and the world. I never let people defy my blindness.
My blindness does not disable or blindfold my ability to live an authentic life, let alone do mundane things. This campaign is not letting me have big sights; It's not letting me be human. I hope #HowEyeSeeIt lets you you see what I see, and not what this campaign says what I see. This campaign has taken away my sight to be the beautiful actor, writer, biker, sister, daughter, and friend that I am.
Please do not participate in the blindness simulations purported by the blindfold challenge. Do not donate to the Foundation Fighting Blindness under this campaign. Medical research is good, but misconceptions are bad, and dangerous.
Thank you to those who do not blindfold me.
I am blind, not blindfolded. I am tired of being blindfolded. I don't deserve to be blindfolded. Please help me stop those who blindfold me.
Please don't blindfold me anymore, I need to be blind. I need to write, bike ride, and act. I need to be a student, sister, daughter, friend, and a believer.
