Max Ryan Pinkerton's the name, and tryin' to fit in is my game.
No matter where I go, I tend to stick out like a sore thumb. Y'see, I happen to have albinism, or lack of pigment. Because of this, my skin is paler than pale, my hair is snow white, and my eyes are a pale, pale grey-blue with pink pupils.
I'm also legally blind. Blind as a bat without my glasses; when I'm out in bright light, I have to wear sunglasses, or else my eyes could get damaged more than they already are.
To get around, I rely on a cane or a friend, who holds onto my arm and guides me around. Other than that, I'm as normal as any other kid.
While I obviously can't drive a car, I can do just about anything else. I play on the computer, write, read (both in Braille), sing, play drums and guitar, and watch (listen) to the television or radio.
When I grow older, I would like to go to college and become a teacher to kids with special needs, particularly those with visual problems. I feel that, as a blind person, I could relate to them with very few problems.
I sometimes get picked on because of my visual handicap or my lighter-than-normal looks. I get annoyed; I try to ignore them, but sometimes it's hard, especially when they do it all the time.
Kids call me "Ghost Boy" or "Whitey", among other things. Personally, I wsih they'd get a life, leave me the heck alone! I don't tease people; why, then, should they do it to me?? It's not fair!!
In my family, my mother is albino like me. That's how I inherited it. My dad, little sister Colbie, and little brother Mason (they're ten and six, respectively) look like any other person: no albino looks for them. They all have black hair and dark brown eyes while my mom and I have the white hair, very pale skin, and light, light eyes.
Don't know where we got it; nobody else in our family has it. It's really weird!! Somewhere, somehow, someone in our family tree has albinism; as for who, that remains a mystery to this day.
Well, I am going to go; am going to go to the skateboard park and hang out with Dewey Travers and Edwin Rogues, my two best buds. We plan to do it again tomorrow and Tuesday; no school those two days. (Martin Luther King Day tomorrow and the Presidential Inaugeration on Tuesday, when the new president, Barack Obama, is sworn in.)
I will write in here again soon; take care and may God bless you always!
~Max Ryan Pinkerton, aged 15, Dallas, Texas. :)
