Another round of testing for the Martial Arts class on Tuesday was followed by an awards ceremony. The entire Center turned out in the gym as five students and Travel Instructor Steve Patten all received orange belts from Karate Denver instructors Rachel and Travis. Steve is a bit of a ringer, of course, since he already has a black belt in Judo and competed internationally.

Each class meets for eight sessions in our gym, learning any number of defensive strategies and moves, punches, kicks and holds. This class included Jay, Jimmy, Warren, Brittany, warren and Courtney C along with Steve.

“I feel a lot more confidence in myself,” said Brittany after the class. Wearing a warrior’s face during her belt testing, she giggles when asked about it. “It was fun too!”

The mornings are cool and the colors turning. There were still loads of tomoatoes, green to read, not to mention the ripe pumpkins on wat may be one of the last weeks our sudents work in our Legacy Garden with the Arapahoe Master Gardeners.

This week it was the first-hour Tech Classes who got to work in the garden. From veterans like Tech Instructor Chris Parsons (who breakfasted on tomatoes directly off the vine, to brand-new students like David in his first day at the Center, it was a festive mood bringing in so much produce before the first frost hits. For those who’ve been around since the first plantings last June, it’s satisfying, yet bittersweet. Like every year, though, the garden is a big part of our summer months at the Center!

Hindley loves to cook and entertain, something she learned from positive role models. She gives her thoughts on the negative impact of the #HowEyeSeeIt challenge.

Okay, this is really not about finding a girlfriend, but it is about Jackson developing the skills and confidence to be an independent blind person. And what’s not attractive about that? He gives his thoughts on the #HowEyeSeeIt challenge as well.

Does blindness cause people to be unable to tell the difference between water and vinegar? That’s what one #HowEyeSeeIt video concludes. Two of our Home Management Instructors suggest that there’s more than a whiff of the ridiculous in that.

Warren is interested in becoming a blind vendor after graduation on October 5. That’s why he took on the task of working with the Center soda machine. He gives us his thoughts on the HowEEyeSeeIt challenge – a fund-raising campaign that invites participants to mimick blindness and call for funding a cure.

Believe it or not, the HowEyeSeeIt campaign hsows folks who are convinced they couldn’t type without their vision. Elementary thinking, and a pretty basic skill that Matt mastered long ago.

Mastering the ordinary is not extraordinary for blind people, but that mastery is the foundation for living the lives we want extraordinarily! Christian has been doing a lot of cooking this week, putting in place more of the building blocks for the future he wants for himself.

Mastering the ordinary is not extraordinary for blind people, but that mastery is the foundation for living the lives we want extraordinarily! Christian has been doing a lot of cooking this week, putting in place more of the building blocks for the future he wants for himself.

While one fund-raising organization is sponsoring the #HowEyeSeeIt social media campaign designed to show that blind people can’t do anything, our students here at the Colorado Center for the Blind keep learning every day that they can “Take Charge with Confidence” and “Live the Lives We Want.”

Take Jimmy’s mini-meal for example …

… or maybe it’s not if you have a career behind you as a surgical nurse.