Story: Track and field runner Taylor Talbot began losing her sight at 8 years old from a rare degenerative eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa. Now 20 years old, she has lost all sight in her right eye and only has about 5% tunnel vision in her left, but is at the peak of her athletic career. In 2021, she qualified for the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, only to have her qualification revoked after a miscalculation. She fought for her spot to stay on Team USA and through her emotional determination, family support and athletic grit, ended up competing alongside her teammates in Tokyo in the 100- and 400-meter dashes.

Caption: Talbot uses her cane as her youngest brother, Tyson (9) watches. She has been using it since her freshman year of high school, even though she needed it when she was younger. “I was really insecure at first because I didn’t want people to see me as just a blind girl,” Talbot said. “I’m so much more than that, but the cane is the only thing you see at first.”