I was born with albinism, which causes me to be legally blind. My visual acuity is 20/200 with glasses. Despite this, I am a visual art student at the Mississippi School for the Arts in Brookhaven, MS. I have always been interested in drawing and painting. I started working with a local artist who went to my church when I was around 12. My high school art teacher was also very impressed with my ability, especially in light of my low vision. My parents encouraged me to apply to MSA for my junior and senior years of high school. It was a scary thought to attend a residential school several hours from my home, but the idea of being surrounded by other students with similar interests was worth the risk. I applied and was accepted. At MSA I have "found my people" - students who are interested in art. I have also found friends who help me navigate a world I have difficulty seeing. I have grown so accustomed to accommodating my low vision that often people who do not know me do not realize that I have difficulty seeing. Sometimes I have to remind my teachers that I cannot necessarily see what they are referring to in class. While my teachers are very willing to accommodate my challenges, they must sometimes forget. Fortunately, instances like this have helped me to become a better advocate for myself. While my parents love and support me, they will not always be near me. I had to learn that asking for accommodations is not an unfair advantage but a means of just leveling the playing field. It takes me longer to do some assignments because I have to go back and forth between a magnifying device and paper when I am doing an assignment. Sometimes my back hurts from having to bend over my work for extended periods in order to see it. I need my phone near me to use its magnifying capabilities just to read labels in the store. Reading for long periods puts a strain on my eyes which causes terrible headaches. I have to pace myself and never put off starting an assignment. Through all of this, I have developed a very good work ethic. I will do what I am assigned as soon as it is assigned because I know that the "last minute" is sooner for me than many of my peers. What they could knock out in thirty minutes takes me several hours. But it has made me a better person. I have a 4.0 GPA and I have taken enough dual-enrollment classes that I will graduate high school with an associate's degree from Co-Lin Community College. I am looking forward to college and the new challenges I will face there.