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Hi, I'm Brit.

- Hey, I am Julian.

- I am blind and visually impaired.

So sometimes I'm completely in the dark,

sometimes I can see a little bit.

- And I'm here to answer some commonly Googled questions

about blindness.

Well, I've certainly heard the gamut of questions

all throughout my life, so. (laughs)

- Yes, I would say we dream.

I went blind two years ago.

So I still dream in full color and audio.

Since I lost my vision, I dream as though I can see,

but I'm getting around with a cane.

And they've definitely become more audio.

- Yes, we absolutely do.

The stuff that's in my dreams is based

on what I have experienced or sensed in life.

Most people who are blind have some level of,

at the very least even, light perception.

In my case, because I have some vision,

there is some visual component to my dreams.

I don't feel like I see extra in my dreams

versus what I see when I'm awake.

But it just doesn't matter.

The lack of vision in my dream doesn't get in the way

of doing anything.

- In my dreams, the people have become more shadows,

and the people that I think about

or dream about are more about what they make me feel like

or what they smell like

or what they sound like.

- My favorite dreams are the dreams

where I'm flying. (laughs)

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- If you broke your arm, do you still have an arm?

The answer is yes.

We still blink.

That has to do with the autonomic system.

As far as I know, the people that have fake eyes,

they still blink.

So yes, I think blind people blink.

- Yes, I do.

I do have friends also that are totally blind,

and I believe they blink as well.

Even if you don't perceive any light

or anything through your eyes

as long as they're there

and your eyelashes and your things are there,

you're gonna blink.

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- I would say blindness

is like seeing the back of your head.

It's nothing.

There is darkness, but it's more of a lack of vision.

I don't see black.

I see nothing.

Some people that are blind do see actual black or dots.

Or sometimes with me,

my vision looks like a broken, static television,

but my blindness changes by the day,

which is why I'm also visually impaired.

- I know I do, because again,

I do have some vision.

So for me, black is like night.

There's no light.

There's nothing that I can be seeing.

So it's just total darkness.

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- Yes, yes we cry.

We're normal people.

We just can't see like everybody else.

- We are humans, like everybody else.

We do have emotions.

And yes, we experience sadness, loss, pain.

We cry.

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- No, it doesn't help your hearing.

- No, the answer is we do not have better hearing.

Again, we are not Daredevil.

We don't have this ability to turn our ear

and hear something from a mile away.

What it is, is that we rely on our hearing

more than if you are lacking in one sense,

the brain is gonna tap the other senses a little bit more

to try to get that information.

- Since I've lost my vision,

I have gained the abilities to know

which one of my family members is approaching me

based on footstep.

I can hear things on the other side of the house,

because I put an effort into it.

So it's not that we get better hearing.

It's that we have to focus

and work on our other senses.

- We do not have extra bionic supersonic hearing.

That's a myth.

Blindness is not the characteristics that defines us.

It's not our badge, identification badge. (laughs)

If all you see is blindness,

then you're missing out on a whole lot.

You're missing out on possibly meeting some great friends.

You're missing out on possibly hiring some

of your best and most loyal, dedicated employees.

The unemployment rate is so high in our community.

It's somewhere in the neighborhood of 70900:04:18,399 --> 00:04:21,799 of working age blind people are either under

or unemployed.

It's just a matter of giving us a shot

and understanding that you need to look beyond

that white cane or beyond that guide dog.

Know that blindness is not the thing

that's gonna stand in our way,

and you shouldn't let it stand in yours.

- There's also a feeling

that we have in our youth that we live forever

and that nothing bad will ever happen to us.

But it's really not true.

I went blind overnight,

and I could say it could happen to anyone at any time.

And I feel very fortunate to have that perspective,

'cause I appreciate every day as if it's my last,

and I seize every moment I can.

And that's one of the reasons why going blind

made me happier.

This is a vessel that you live in,

and it can get hurt,

and you're not invincible.

I understand what life's actually about,

and it's not about the little things that stress you out.

It's not about focusing on those.

It's about the things that really matter to you.

For me, it's my family.

I love to create.

I love my career.

I love writing.

And that's what keeps me going.

And I hope that maybe even if you're sighted

or have no disabilities, you could take that perspective

and use it on yourself.

And I hope that you could enjoy your life

with all of the senses that you have.

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