Teacher Christina Lohry describes a moment in which she realized how language (and other forms of communication) can profoundly change how we view others, breaking down misconceptions and helping us connect.

While volunteering at a cerebral palsy center as a teenager, Lohry took the time to literally look into another person’s eyes. In doing so, her sense of the world was forever changed. Reality, she realized, is “never solid, it’s never what we think it is.” Human connections—with or without the assistance of language—are always possible; in turn, the world can always be bigger.

– Christina Lohry (Chantilly Montessori School, Charlotte, NC)