Do you remember taking a school trip to the local planetarium? We didn’t get to see images, like the view from the International Space Station or that space probe they flung at Saturn, but it was still a magical experience. There’s something so unique about seeing your textbook come to life and I suspect a man named Tim Doucette felt the same when he was a kid.
Doucette was born with congenital cataracts, which has left him with “only about 10 percent of [his] eyesight.” He discusses this further in the video, explaining that, "For the average person, their pupil automatically adjusts for the amount of light coming in. But for me, my pupil is always open — it's always letting in a lot of light." This means that he’s legally blind, which has put a significant damper on his lifelong dream of becoming an astronaut.
But great deeds are accomplished by great people, and Doucette wouldn’t let any obstacle slow him down. It’s because of his vision impairment, not despite it, that he discovered he was uniquely positioned to study the stars he so loved. Unlike someone with average eyesight, Doucette is able to see more clearly in the dark. This provides him with the ability to see the stars better than even professional astronomers!
I think we can all learn to lead by his example. Follow your dreams, even if they take you all the way up to space.
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Night Vision: The Blind Astronomer of Nova Scotia from Great Big Story on Vimeo.
