The sun rises, and the bursts of purples, streams of pinks, and the gleam of yellow, cascade over the cool blue sky. Fields of never-green grass, and splotches of dull flower patches, are complemented by the soon falling of crisp warm autumn leaves that paint pavements.
Yet, four percent of the American population never gets to experience these phenomena.
Bryant Rife, a sophomore, is one of this four percent. Like them, he is colorblind. He struggles to see the difference between greens and reds. Without that characteristic, he’s the star student stereotype. He makes straight A’s, loves his little sister, plays baseball, and is asleep by 10:00 on weeknights.
Star student stereotype or not, he still faces challenges. Decoding graphs, completing chemistry labs, and deciphering traffic lights—‘green or red?’
Green or red. Go or stop?
What if he stops trying to force himself out of his comfort zone someday? Will he go for that dream of attending UVA just like his dad and receiving his architectural degree?
Who’s going to tell him to go for that job interview where he nails it and lands the corner office? In which direction will he go to start the life of his dreams: West or North?
What will his little sister’s reaction be when she goes to visit and discovers she’s going to be an aunt? Will he smile when his daughter stops using training wheels? How fast will his legs go as he rushes to hug his son after his first home run?
Rife holds these goals close to his heart as each one crosses his mind living his day-by-day life. While the world around him is centered on a color-reliant point of view he persists and won’t let his goals be altered by his disability.
One day, Rife will be old and gray, his nightstand littered with framed photographs of weddings, graduations, and other milestones, each memory he made along the way. Beyond the nightstand is a window that displays the same sight that opens and closes every day he’s lived—the rising and setting sun.
The sun will set one final time, and the bursts of purples, pinks, and the gleam of yellow will fade into the navy blue sky.