Buford, Beta, and the Slopes

Well, it’s February. The month where New Year’s resolutions die. The month where you think it might actually warm up, and then it doesn’t. The month where you regret ever saying the phrase, “this year will be different”. Maybe these are just my depressing thoughts, but I have a feeling there are at least one or two more people that I’m echoing here.     

Hello Jackets! It’s me, Landon Bryson, writing to you with extra cold fingers. West Virginia does that to everyone, but it’s worse when you use your fingers to read. I would glue some hand warmers on if that wouldn’t stop the reading process altogether.    

The South Carolina State Beta Convention was last weekend. It was a place to unite with other awesome people, students and staff alike, and experience new memories. At the convention, there were competitions and performances, tests taken there and tests taken online. Buford brought back 6 awards, ranging from Spanish to Creative Writing to Agricultural Science to painting. Two of the students, myself and Tabytha Thompson, were also invited to sing at the National Beta Convention in Tennessee. All in all, it was an amazing experience. And if I could take the time to throw the sunniest bit of shade, I’d just like to say that while Buford is constantly made fun of, we are actually the only school in the Lancaster School District that goes to the anual Beta convention. So do with that what you will.   

I mentioned West Virginia earlier. While everyone had a day off of school today, not everyone had a day off yesterday as well. I was one of the lucky ones. Wednesday, directly after school, me and my family drove to West Virginia for a ski trip. We usually go once a year, but we skipped last year.

There’s something so free about flying down a hill, the exhilaration of it is honestly life-changing. Feeling the wind on your face, the sting in your eyes, and the occasional snow all over you if you fall, which I only did twice yesterday, once for skiing a little too far and once because my ski slipped. But who even cares?  

You might be wondering how a blind person can ski. If you aren’t, don’t worry, I’m telling you anyway. The short answer to how I do it is: with poles and skis. But if you want a more detailed explanation, I suppose I could explain that since I can see light, I can somewhat make out where people are. I also have a parent, my mom or my stepdad, call out directions to me as I ski, so I can know where to go. Like I said before, this is kind of a family tradition, so yesterday was also my sixth time. I’m not new to it.     

But anyways, I had a great time and I recommend it to anyone who’s interested. You’ll have a blast. You just have to not care about falling, otherwise you’ll never have fun, and you won’t finish anything. Maybe that applies to more than just skiing.    

Well, that’s it for this week. I hope everyone enjoys their day off, and I wish all of you a happy weekend. Until next time, it’s your favorite blind Jacket!