My name is Batya Sperling-Milner and the day I discovered I was an artist I was filled with anxiety. It was my first day of high school art class, and I hadn't yet informed my teacher that I was blind. I tried, as is my habit, to slip it in nonchalantly as I introduced myself. "Hi, I'm Batya, and I'm not great at art, maybe because I'm blind but it could be a number of things...". Either he didn't catch on or he saw something in me that I didn't see yet, because my teacher just handed me a piece of paper and told me to draw. Ever since then, I have been creating all types of visual art, from pastel drawings to watercolor to word-and-image painting. My style is based on bright colors, contrast, and big shapes, all manifestations of the way I see. In that first art class, I learned that art communicates my inner view in a way that words, my trusty companions for so long, simply cannot. Through my art, I have learned to give others a true window into my perspective.