I’m surrounded by nothing but cold water. My eyes are slammed shut, and my body becomes more numb by the second. I let go of the paddle for one second, just to thrash, to fight, until my head rises out of the water. I gasp, not because I’m particularly desperate for air, but because of the shocking cold that is filling my every thought. I swim,and I swim, and breathe, and eventually I make it.
I will never ride in the front of a raft again.
Hello Jackets! It’s me, Landon Bryson, writing to you with two weeks worth of experiences that I will never forget. It’s honestly crazy how many things I’ve been through this summer. Ordering a ton of food, traveling to different islands and countries, hiking, swimming, zip lining, rafting, falling out of a raft! (Those last two go hand in hand). I’ve been through all of these, and I’m ready to talk about everything.
Two weeks ago I had the great pleasure of being on a cruise. We had three different stops: Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, and Amber Cove. When I tell you that it was hot, well, let’s just say that I definitely missed the AC.
What I missed almost as much as the AC was WiFi. I can’t tell you how many times I clicked on TikTok to scroll through, (yes blind people can still use it for the most part), and it just didn’t work because of the cruise WiFi. Or how many times I tried to look up a song on Spotify, and I couldn’t. If you know me, you know that Spotify is my life.
But trust me, the shopping, the laying out all day, reading, all-you-can-eat food and drinks, made up for no WiFi. I tried to tan. It did not work.
The next week, I had a camp to go to. This camp was also for the blind, and I got to see some friends that I hadn’t seen in forever. It’s amazing, going to a camp, being around other blind kids who understand you, and who you’ve known for years. We definitely had some good laughs, and we played a lot of fun games.
One day, we went hiking, and I was sitting in this hammock, chilling under a tree. I put my hand on the hammock and moved it to the left, and that’s when I felt an insect, crawling, right before the sting. That was my first time getting stung, and I have to say it was not great. Thankfully, we had some medicine to cool the pain, and there was a creek next to us that I was able to put my hand in.
But nothing compares to my rafting experience. Riding in the front of the raft, wearing crocks, shorts, and a short sleeve shirt, getting water splashed on you? You’re naturally going to be cold. But when you hit a rock too hard, and you’re flung out of the raft and into the 45 degree water, it gets very very cold. Thankfully, I was able to grab onto the back of a boat, and climb a rock. While my feet were still submerged in the stupid icy water, the rest of me was above it, shivering like crazy. Then, the guide who came to help me told me that I had to swim on my back, and keep my nose in the air so I could breathe. He informed me that the swim that I had to make back to land was one of the longest swims in the Nantahala River. That sounded a little more impressive to me, so now every time I tell this story, I include that part.
But in spite of all of this, all of the falling, stinging, heat, lack of WiFi. I had so much fun sitting around the fire talking with friends, eating s’mores. Playing games, telling blind jokes and stories. Being around people who understood me, who got all of the funny remarks and related to the crazy cringy blind moments. I loved my roommates, even though one of them was very annoying sometimes. (He’s going to read this blog post. He’s actually awesome).
Anyways, I guess the point I’m trying to make is that I believe everyone can find a group of people who understands them. I know someone who recently just graduated high school that told all of the BHS chorus members, “you will find that person that treats you like you’re one of them”. I hope I got that quote right. Anyways, I wholeheartedly agree with him. No matter how hard you think life is, no matter how much you think this isn’t true, and even if at the end of the day you have to be there for yourself, one day you will find someone, or a group, who loves you just for being you. And when that day comes, it will be something you’ll never forget.
Well, that’s all for this week. I hope everyone is having an awesome summer. Enjoy it while it lasts. You don’t have much longer. Until next time, it’s your favorite blind Jacket.