When I was in high school, I once said to my mentor that if I could go back and do my life over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. To this day, my former mentor is still blown away by that statement. But it’s really true; I wouldn’t change a thing. I wouldn’t go back to being “normal”.

The fact that I’m visually impaired has enabled me to meet so many wonderful people in my life, people who I wouldn’t have met were it not for my disability. Strange as it may sound, the fact is I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my disability. Again, I’ve been able to connect and bond with an incredible amount of people, forging relationships that, to this day, still exist. Now, all this isn’t to say that I don’t have my days when I curse being legally blind. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get all woe-is-me at times because I’m unable to drive or because my right eye is not centered like it should be. Believe me, I have my moments, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m sometimes pretty insecure about these things.

At the end of the day, though, it’s about perspective. While I’m absolutely aware of my limitations, the bottom line is that this dark cloud has a silver lining. Who I am today — what I’ve accomplished, who I associate with, the kind of person I am — is a reflection of my visual impairment and other disabilities. My life is better because of them.

If I could lead my Challenger Baseball league in home runs two years in a row, being legally blind can’t be all bad, right?