Hi, I’m Chloe and I’m 13 years old, born in China, adopted, then raised in Tennessee. I would like to take this opportunity to share some of my personal struggles growing up with and living with albinism, specifically OC1A.
I never realized how different I was until about 2nd grade when I noticed how oddly people looked at me everywhere I went and how people would whisper and snicker as I passed. It absolutely destroyed me in so many ways. Being legally called “disabled” is quite dehumanizing when you grow up with about a 100 labels that most think, define your worth. During this time, I began to struggle with severe anxiety, depression, suicidal actions, and HUGE amounts of body dysmorphia.
When you grow up around people who think you are made of glass, it makes you feel like you will never be anything. Ever. I hated myself and everything that came with albinism, though now, after intense therapy and copious amounts of trauma, things are slowly shifting.
I will never be able to write enough words on what this horrid reality is like. Being “disabled” makes me feel like I’m not worth anything, so I’ve always tried to make up for the fact that I have albinism.
Through all my struggle and trauma, some good things are coming out of this. Having so much to look back on for some reason made my creativity flourish the more I grew. Words have always been an outlet that I trust more than anything. I went from long writing assignments, to paper books I made with glue and pens, to filling three journals up with stories, to having an 88 thousand word novel on the way. Albinism has made me a better person and write, which I will be eternally grateful for. It gets better. You are understood.
