December 29, 2007 04:00 am To me, perception is a huge part of my life. There is, of course, a difference between perceiving things and seeing those things. Seeing is not a necessity, but perception and interpretation are. It's so amazing to think about how much something, like vision, is emphasized in this world. Vision is a wonderful thing, but most people only have two tiny, little pupils in the front of their head. And mind you, those two little black dots perceive only one aspect of the larger picture of all that is out there to be discovered. Let me just stray from that thought for a moment. Are you familiar with that phrase they teach in communication classes, about how we only have one mouth and two ears? It basically is emphasizing the need for listening rather than just talking. On the surface, it seems to be quite the paradox, but it's really not. Communicating has more to do with a whole process, not just uttering a string of noises and moving your jaw up and down at the same time. And, guess what? The same goes for perceiving the world. It is a whole process with many inputs, outputs and numerous mechanics of the whole process working somewhere in between. It's undeniable that our world puts quite a bit of effort into appealing to the visual sense. But, even so, there are plenty of other cues taken in through the other senses as well. Sensory perception is incredible, the way it works, and it can't be under estimated. Try thinking of the body as a parallel circuit. After all, science is art as art is science. If you know anything about electrical circuits, you know that a parallel circuit has more than one pathway for the electrical current to run through. Now, if that circuit has several light bulbs hooked in to it, and then one burns out or is removed altogether, the other light bulbs are still able to receive the electricity to remain lit. Why? Well, because the current still runs through the circuit. It has more than one path to take, so it easily bypasses the one route it cannot take, and simply continues on its way through the rest of the circuit. There are endless networks within the body and the mind just like that, which reroute and integrate everything that is perceived. If my bulb labeled "eye sight" is removed, well, then my circuit keeps working just like it did before my so-called bulb burned out. Visual input and interpretation is not the default, nor do I happen to think it's the most accurate. When I first got to college here in Oneonta, I remember getting a little lost after the first real snowy day we had that semester. I was trying to get to the dining hall and ended up down a path toward the residence halls instead. There was a group of girls who were walking toward me when I suddenly realized there was something wrong. So I asked them where I was in relation to the dining hall. They told me they were headed to eat lunch themselves and they told me they'd walk there with me. So I turned around and we started walking together. We walked and talked, and they invited me to have lunch with them. So I did. I had a blast. The time was really enjoyable. It wasn't until later that someone made a comment to me about all the tattoos, piercing and everything else they had. At that time, I was a lot more modest and conservative than I am nowadays, but even so, I had a hard time allowing my concerns about "proper" appearance to get in the way of who those girls were on the inside. In fact, I really think that was a turning point in my life. I started recognizing that I could use my blindness as an advantage. I didn't have to be critical and judgmental just because I was brought up to believe that piercing and tattoos were improper and unladylike. I could decide what kind of deeper character a person had, without the more superficial, physical attributes coloring my perceptions. It's understandable why so many people are troubled when they contemplate what life would be like without vision. To be completely honest, though, life without sight is just as normal as life with it. Life, regardless of sight or no sight, is art at its finest. It takes a heck of a lot of skill and imagination to create something profoundly beautiful. And, there are no limits. The more years that pass me by in this life are beginning to teach me about the possibilities that can be born from impossibility. Moving past the things I think are impossible only requires that I stop looking at it from that angle. Expect the unexpected, and brace yourself for what you find. My favorite quote is an old Chinese proverb, which says: "The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it." And that's so true. People often don't know people with disabilities can live artfully crafted lives, but we most definitely can. Kate Pavlacka, a graduate of the State University College at Oneonta, has been totally blind for 11 years.
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