"You Don't Look Native"

First, if you know me, then you can most likely assume what this post will be about. If you don't, then let me explain. Hi, I'm JD and I have albinism. Some people reading this may not know what that is. Albinism is a recessive, genetic condition that can cause low pigmentation in the eyes, hair, and skin. Recessive, meaning that the gene itself must be present in both parents for the possibility of the physical traits to occur for an individual.
There are various types of this condition. Sometimes only the eyes are affected (known as ocular albinism) and sometimes the skin and eyes are affected, as well as cases where low pigment occurs throughout the body (eyes, hair, skin). The type I have is called Oculocutaneous. This has also caused several other conditions with my vision. I have something called Nystagmus which causes my pupils to move uncontrollably. (And yes there are also different types of nystagmus, mine is horizontal movement) I am also legally disabled having low vision.
Now that you know a decent amount of details related to albinism, let me get into the "real" topic. :)
[takes a drink of water]
If you visit my YouTube channel (click here) you will notice that I recently have been making my voice heard on topics related to the Indigenous community. I leave comments on other videos, make video responses. And every now and again I will get the reply "You can't be native! You're the whitest guy I've ever seen!" or something like, "Stop posing as a Native American"...
A fellow YouTuber commented on one of my videos asking me if I had received a lot of bullying as a kid. Growing up I did indeed recognize that I looked very different from a majority of my tribal members. But here is the thing, I grew up on my reservation being fully accepted by my family and village. Other children my age knew who I was and really did not question my condition that much. Sure there were blunt comments here and there (kids being kids) but for the most part I was not the subject of severe ridicule or harassment.
Although it is a rare occurrence, I do in fact have other family members that have the physical traits of albinism. There are other Hopis that also have albinism. I have several friends from the Navajo Reservation that also have this condition. I find it interesting how more frequent the condition appears in Navajo families. (more than one child or a parent and child show physical traits) Of course it being a gene, all family members are carriers. Just remember that because it is RECESSIVE both a mother and father must be carriers for it to potentially affect their child.
Albinism occurs worldwide. You can be from any tribe, any country, I guarantee that you will find various people from all cultures with this condition. This is where the saying, "Don't judge a book by it's cover" HEAVILY applies. Just because I look white and have blonde hair, does not make my indigenous identity any less valid. I happen to be part of few people who can call themselves full-blooded Hopi. If my appearance is what makes you uncomfortable, then you are a person that is truly without sight.

I'm Not A Writer

Hey there, so I guess it would be appropriate for me to let you know a little of who I am. My name is... well what I go by and what most know me as, is "JD". It's something that has stuck with me since middle school because there were two of us with the same name (different spelling) so because of my last name, the music teacher decided that I would be "JD".  I've used it ever since and RARELY use the name on my ID and birth certificate. :)
What do I do? I do a lot of things, mostly revolving around creativity. I started middle school marching band and have loved music ever since! Although my first instrument was the trumpet, my true passion was the piano. I have now been playing for seven (going on 8 years). I do performances here and there, not exactly a professional performer, but I do enjoy playing and composing. Maybe we can talk more about my music history later. I also like to paint (another thing I started taking seriously in middle school), run, cook, and teach.
Why did I start a blog in the first place if I am claiming not to be a writer??? (see title above) Honestly, I (as the name of my blog says) am a minority of the minority. I carry with me many labels. (i.e. male, YouTuber, musician, teacher, artist...) but also other labels such as; Native American, albino, visually impaired/legally blind, and I am also a member of the LGBTQ community. Quite a bit of minority groups I identify with...
Now yes, as mentioned I am a YouTuber. Most of my videos started because I wanted to talk about my visual condition and my albinism. I did not come across many blind or low vision people on YouTube so I decided to talk about the things that annoyed me, things that needed to be heard, and just to share my story with whomever wanted to listen. Not too long after I started my channel I was also getting ready to come out to my friends and family. This was also during the time I began watching more and more gay YouTubers. The first video I uploaded talking about my sexual identity was for the ItGetsBetter Project. Since then I've done topics related to gay issues, my experiences on being visually impaired, and more recently about my cultural heritage. My channel is not set for a specific group of individuals to watch, whoever wishes to watch, listen, learn, and contribute is welcome to my channel. 
Now, my friends tell me that I am an articulate person. I understand why they see this quality in me. But I have really found myself not to be the strongest of writers. I enjoy talking (laughs)... I can guarantee you that a conversation with me can go on forever. :) But lately I have been thinking that I honestly want to say so much more. And the amount of work that goes into my videos, can take quite a while to put together. Especially when I am a person striving for a certain level of "perfection". I guess it's just the artist in me. I tend to be picky about how I present my projects. 
So that is where this blog comes in. I have more I want to share and more that I want to discuss with others that wish to join the conversation. Like my YouTube channel I will talk about all of these identities that I claim for myself. My ethnic background, my disability, my creativity, my genetic condition, my sexual orientation, and even dive into other experiences that spark certain thoughts. I believe that creativity and learning stems from sharing. This is what I have to share. Will you join me?
Thanks for reading ALL of these words. I will try my best to keep this thing filled with a variety of topics important to me. If I really start to like it, I will keep you updated should I come up with a schedule. Thanks again!
JD