Through Our Eyes: Reaching for the Next Rock

“You have to move forward one more rock.” – R.J. Best

Missouri in July can hover around 100 degrees in the shade, and 17-year old RJ Best was feeling every bit of that heat as they scaled a climbing wall (the first obstacle in a ropes course at Alphapointe’s Adventure Camp). They tried their hardest to ignore their strong aversion to heights.

In contrast to RJ’s struggles, the 8-year-old boy in front of them was climbing the wall as one might climb a latter, his blind eyes unable to look down and see just how far off the ground he was. Below him – and sighted – RJ was accepting the challenge silently, attempting to leave their fears below as they reached for the next handhold bolted to the wall so they could follow their young guide upward.

Starting at an Early Age

RJ was born and raised in the Kansas City area. Their exposure to the world of vision loss started almost immediately, thanks to their grandmother having albinism, making her legally blind.

“She couldn’t see, but my grandmother did everything,” says RJ. “It was never weird or strange to me that my grandmother couldn’t see. I actually found it more weird that other people thought it was strange.”

As a young woman in high school, RJ decided to volunteer their time in a special education classroom at their school. They would quickly make friends with the only student in the room with vision loss. Over the course of the semester, RJ and the student would become close, and at the end of the year RJ was invited by the student to attend Alphapointe’s Adventure Camp.

After researching Alphapointe on their own, RJ made what turned out to be a life-altering decision and volunteered for Adventure camp.

“When I saw the growth in those kids after just a week of feeling accepted, capable and confident, something inside me broke,” they said. “How dare someone tell these kids that they can’t do whatever they want to do. That’s when I decided that I wanted to be a part of changing the way the world views someone with vision loss. I wanted to destroy those stereotypes and rebuild expectations that people have for someone who is blind.”

Turning Ideas Into Actions

During the summers, RJ would continue to volunteer at Adventure Camp for over a decade and helped out at other events, too.

They majored in special education and elementary education with a minor in deaf studies at Northwest Missouri State, then earned their master’s degree in special education with an emphasis in visual impairment, as well as becoming a certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS).

They spent time as a braille transcriber and Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) in a local school district. In what RJ would describe as a “full circle moment” during their first year as a TVI, one of the students on their caseload was none other than the very student they had connected with when they were in high school, who was in their senior year

RJ was an O&M instructor for several years, but unfortunately was forced to stop due to health issues. At this time, they began doing part-time Braille transcription for Alphapointe and would soon be offered the full-time position of braille instructor.

“Alphapointe did so much for me in my journey, and now it is time for me to give back,” says RJ. “I’m so grateful for everything Alphapointe has allowed me to do, and I now want to return the favor by using the skills that I’ve acquired to give back to the organization and its clients.”

Climbing the Wall

Some people make the decision of what they want to do with their life over a period of time. Some might make it while sitting in a college lecture hall, or while interacting with a close friend or family member. RJ had a realization that would shape the rest of their life when they were strapped into a harness and standing on a wire dozens of feet off the ground while a blind youth cheered them on.

Moving forward, RJ has their sights set high. In fact, they say, they’d like their skills and passion to change the world. To do that, they plan on continuing their work at Alphapointe to create a space where those with vision loss can continue to learn, grow and change the perception of just what blind people are able to accomplish.

“Its okay to feel sad, angry, or scared,” they conclude. “But you can’t stand still. You must take at least one step forward. Its just like the rock wall, you have to move forward one more rock.”