Blindspot by Jordan Smith
The students were tasked to imagine themselves sitting on a park bench, waiting for a friend, when a blind person suddenly appears and asks the student, “What do you see?”
JORDAN…starts to answer the question with her eyes, but soon finds herself tapping into the deeper well of her mind and heart.
Blindspot
Today I decided to go to a park with a friend. It doesn’t matter what park I go to, nor which friend I go with. I just feel like using the swingset the whole time instead of letting a little kid get on. They can cry to their parents all they want, I refuse to move. Anyway, I sat on a random bench in the park closest to my house. I kicked several rocks that were in front of me while I waited for my friend.
Suddenly, I hear movement beside me. Turns out somebody sat down on the other side of the bench. I felt a little upset that somebody sat on my bench, until I looked up. The person sitting next to me was blind. They had a white cane with a red stripe, and dark glasses. It was quiet between the two of us for a moment. Then, they asked me a question out of nowhere. “What do you see?”
I was confused as to why they asked me that question. I didn’t have anything else to do, so I answered. I told them about the trees swaying in the wind, the chirping of birds, and the countless kids running around. I thought I answered the question, but I was wrong. This person wasn’t looking for a basic answer, instead one that was meaningful. Meaningful? I don’t know anything about meaningful, heartfelt sayings that would inspire thousands of people.
I didn’t realize the answer was in front of me the whole time. The answer was my personal view on the world, mine.. When their question clicked in my head, I told them everything I felt in the moment. “I see people that disregard others because of a label they were given. I see how cruel humanity can treat one another. I see how kindness can be found in a pool of selfishness and anger. I see the world for what it is, not what I want it to be.
I see the efforts to rebuild what is broken. I see the limitations, pain, and resentment of colonized countries. I see uncovered secrets in the faces of those who don’t know where they came from. I see the corruption of governments around the world.”
Everything I’ve ever thought spewed from my mouth until there was nothing left. The person next to me said nothing, but I didn’t need words to know they understood everything. We sat together in silence, basking in this moment with only our surroundings speaking for us.
Jordan Smith
9/26/25