If you have spent any time at all on YouTube, you have probably seen videos of people hearing for the first time or people seeing color for the first time—videos of people who, through the miracles of modern science, have senses restored that had either been missing altogether or that had become dull through illness or accidents. It is hard not to be moved as a child hears her mother’s voice for the first time or to be thrilled as a man gets his first glimpse of the world in color.
But we only ever see the beginning of these journeys. After all, short-form videos can show us little more than the first reactions—the gasps of surprise, the looks of wonder, the tears of joy. But there is, of course, much more to learn and much more to celebrate in the days that follow.
I recently read of a teenager whose hearing had been restored. After some time had passed, the teen eventually said something like this to her mother: “You didn’t tell me that music is so beautiful. Why didn’t you tell me just how stirring it is to
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