My name is Harper Lynch, I am 13 years old and I have been dancing since the age of 4 years old at Marjorie Jones School of Dance. Dance has always been something that has pushed me to be the best version of myself even through tough times. When I was just 3 months old I was diagnosed with Nystagmus. At a year old it was discovered I have Cone Rod Dystrophy too. These conditions have left a challenge for me that I will continue to face for the rest of my life. The Nystagmus causes my eyes to have repetitive, uncontrolled movements, or as I like to say it causes them to dance. This causes my balance and depth perception to be weakened. My Cone Rod Dystrophy causes me to have a severe sensitivity to light, I’m color blind, and weakens my overall vision. With all of these conditions I am given the title of being visually impaired.

My visual impairment has given me many challenges in school, some being seeing the board or reading a book. I have been lucky to get special accommodations, such as people and technology to help me. My visual impairment has also given me challenges in dance. I have had to work extra hard to keep up with the other girls and to execute things like turns that are an extra challenge to me, because of my vision. I have also had to learn how to self advocate for myself at events like conventions and auditions. I had to gain the confidence to be able to tell teachers who I have never met about my vision to ensure that I would have the accommodations I need.

There have been many times that I have wanted to give up but then I remember how much I love dancing and the amazing teachers and friends supporting me. Dance has always been something that I can work for and it truly gives me joy. I have been very fortunate to have it in my life. Also on top of that all of the amazing opportunities I have had with dance. I hope to inspire others to be resilient and find something that makes them happy.

To help both kids and adults with eye conditions similar and some the same as mine, I have decided to donate all the money raised to Curing Retinal Blindness Foundation. They are a foundation that raises money for research to help people with rare genetic retinal diseases like Cone Rod Dystrophy.