Soho Cafe near DuPont Circle at 23rd and P

Features: Collegiate scene with a decent (not comprehensive) menu and free wireless internet.
Drink: House roast blend and double egg croissant.

My cell has the worst batteries ever and can you believe I can't get any reception! Why are those people so loud on the Metro? Is it that serious? Why can't my iPod battery last all day!? My computer was charging overnight and it still needs to be plugged up? Now, I've got to walk all the way across the room to plug it up. Gosh! Yeah, so I bumped into you, so what? Get out of the way!

After a day of perpetual thoughts like this, now, imagine if you woke up tomorrow and saw absolutely nothing. Pitch black. You could feel, you could smell, you could hear; you just didn't see anything. No longer could you see the view from your window, you couldn't read the newspaper, you couldn't maneuver around your bedroom without bumping into things; you had to guide yourself with your arms. You couldn't pour yourself any milk or make coffee or turn the radio on to your favorite morning station. You'd hear, "good morning" from someone close by, but their face could only be remembered.

Imagine if you were blind.

Growing up visually impaired is severely different from sudden blindness. There are accredited schools across the country that ensure the same educational opportunities as students without visual impairment. Deaf and dyslexic students are accommodated similarly. However, these teachers need supplies. How does a student with these varying maladies use textbooks or other tools?

At left: A student using RFBD instructional materials.

Photo Courtesy of RFBD Public Relations

Organizations like Reading for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFBD) help supply this need. DC is home to one of the few regional centers in the immediate Maryland area. I volunteer here. I can choose to volunteer either evenings or weekends to record texts for students at all levels –even post-secondary. Footnotes in legal practice texts are already difficult to understand, now imagine recording a concise explanation. Let's not forget the student that has to then transfer this sound into useful material for exams, etc.

I definitely began to see how little emphasis I use in normal conversation to allow all vowels and consonants to breathe. It's a working process because I talk pretty fast. I can't help it, being away from home takes a lot of energy to transfer over the phone. I have so much to unleash when dishing with friends.

Recording a text in a booth at the RFBD-DC Center at Friendship Heights.

When I started to volunteer at RFBD-DC, I felt ashamed. There are so many things that I take for granted. Since this past Saturday, my first volunteer session and orientation, I have found a change in the way that I interact with others. I've found that I am now a rebel in social interaction. On the metro, I make it a point to make eye contact with people I do not know. Obviously this is a bit uncomfortable for some. In most cases it results in conversation. You know, why is it so hard to smile? Isn't that something inherently apart of the human experience? Why can't I strike up a conversation with someone I haven't met? Why do we make it difficult to fellowship with each other? What is to fear?

I challenge you to meet someone today that you've never met before. Smile, and above all else, listen.

…my cup is empty.