It has been a few months since I lost my sight in that accident. It’s an interesting thing, to lose something you used to take for granted. I would wake up in the morning and not even worry about if my eyes would work and show me the world. Now I simply rely on my other senses.

The soft feeling of my guide dogs fur, the sounds of my sister's laughter, the scent of the flowers I pass by on the way to school, and the ways my food taste, bitter or sweet, I now cherise all these senses. I know now that I may not always have them. One day I may not be able to feel the soft fur of my guide dog, hear my sister laugh, smell the roses, and enjoy the taste of my food. Now while that has become a greater concern, I also find myself still taking joy in those senses in ways I wouldn’t in the past.

I especially now have a greater appreciation for one of my closest friends. I find it funny to think how blind I was to her before, but now we find ourselves spending more and more time together. She’s in a similar situation as me, but instead of not being able to see, she cannot speak. Also unlike me, she has always been that way.

Since I have developed a greater love and appreciation for my other senses since the loss of my sight, I find myself imagining what her voice would sound like if she could speak. I imagine it being soft and sweet, reminiscent of the way her hand feels in mine when we walk together. I imagine that she would have a lot to say as she always seems to have a lot of wisdom for those willing to sit and listen and I find myself happiest when I am listening.

When I listen to her tapping her pencil on the desk anxiously. When I listen to her typing out a message into her phone for the computer to read out to me what she wishes to say. When I listen to the sounds of us walking down the street together, my guide dog panting happily beside us. It is in these moments that I find myself happiest.