Woman with pale skin and long hair wearing glasses smiling

Eli

Eli living with Oculocutaneous Albinism Type 2

I was born in China and now live in the United States. I am an elite AllStar cheerleader and love to tumble. I have two dogs and a bearded dragon at home.

For more information about albinism, please watch Albinism in FRAME:

Or visit the National Organization for Albinisn and Hypopigmentation: (NOAH)

Have a question for Eli? Ask a question here.

Advocacy is a way to express your views and stand up for yourself; this is important because it allows me to tell others what I might need. When you advocate for yourself, you are not only improving your communication skills, but also allowing other people to understand why you may need certain accommodations. The ability to advocate for yourself is also very important in high school because the teachers might not know the accommodations you need. 
Why is Advocacy important to you?
Something I would like people to know about me is that I love reading romance books. I got into reading this past summer and haven’t stopped since. I think reading is more enjoyable when you read at your own pace and not for an assignment in English class. I think that if you pick up the right book that interests you, you’ll love reading too. It also helps expand your vocabulary and it’s a calming experience, especially on the beach.
What would you like people to know about you?
I think my biggest accomplishment is being able to drive. At first, I wasn’t even sure how the whole driving situation would work, but with my biopics, I’ve been driving to school, on the interstate, and on any errands. I also was initially told that even with the biopics, I would have to wait a year to drive at night. However, I just need to drive at night for a certain amount of hours instead. I think many people take for granted simple everyday things, such as driving, and now being able to do it is such an incredible accomplishment. Driving at first was kinda scary, but now I’m not as stressed and I love driving on the interstate. 
What are you most proud of accomplishing?
A change I would like to see in the world is the ability to work together and respect one another. As someone of the younger generation, I’ve always heard, “It’s your generation's job to fix the future”. I’ve always wondered why the older generations pass on the “responsibility” of improving the world instead of working together to improve it. Attending high school in a world where if you have a different opinion, look different, or do anything that isn’t the social norm, you become the target of ridicule. Even online, people can’t agree on one thing, someone will always have a different perspective. With this also comes getting to know the other person’s perspective. If we respected each other more and listen, we would have probably solved half the problems we’re still trying to solve right now.
What change would you like to see in the world?

Eli's Recent PEARLS Posts

  • Young woman with light skin and brown hair wearing a red uniform smiles and holds a trophy.

    By: Eli

    December 30, 2022

    Cheerleading I’m officially a 2022 State Champion!! My cheer team competed at the NCHSAA State Championship and won as the [...]

  • Three light-skinned people stand on a track.

    By: Eli

    December 18, 2022

      Senior Night The cruise was really fun, my parents and I did a dolphin, stingray, and sea lion encounter. [...]

  • Cheerleading event inside a gym.

    By: Eli

    December 18, 2022

    I know I’m verryyy late to posting this months blog, but to catch you up, the powderpuff routine turned out [...]