Hello, my name is Crystabell, I am 13 years old, I live in Massachusetts, and I have albinism. I live with my family which consists of my parents and 5 children. I have an older brother and a younger sister who also have albinism.
I am in middle school in the 8th grade. I am good in school. Currently, I have straight A’s. I am in honors Math & English, and I am taking Chinese. I am also involved in the school’s Co-ed Cross Country Team which is a sport of running. Ever since I was in 6th grade, my school has won the cross-country championship. We’re planning to win for 3 years in a row before me and my peers move onto high school.
Because I have albinism, my vision, hair color, skin color, and eye color are affected. My vision isn’t as good as people without albinism. I must wear glasses, sit up front in class and use a large screen laptop with accessibility options. I have light skin, and light hair, even though both of my parents are dark skinned. My parents are black and from Nigeria which means I am black. People may not see me as black because of my light skin but I am black.
In my spare time, I play games, use my phone, or interact with my siblings. I like to draw sometimes but my sister is the artist of the house. I sometimes like to read as well. Me and my family are Christians, so we pray and attend church. I like to sing, and I am in the church choir. I hope to be a doctor to help people, or a technician because I’m good with gadgets and devices.
Having albinism doesn’t make me any less of a person. I am still able to do everything everyone else can, just with a little extra help and effort. I’m in the same classes as people without albinism or vision impairment. So, albinism isn’t a disease, and it doesn’t make you much different either. I think that my albinism is pretty. I love watching women with albinism embracing their skin without being ashamed. To everyone that has albinism, you are human too!
