Sometimes crossing the road can be tricky enough with having to see all the stoplights and oncoming traffic. But imagine seeing it how more than 1.3 million people nationwide see it everyday.

"You pretty much have to ask for help in anything you do unless you have someone with you all the time," Erick Dowdy said.

Dowdy has been legally blind since birth. But after 21 years, he now calls it normal...both his condition and how people treat him.

"A lot of times people will offer to help, but other times I come across people getting irritated," Dowdy said.

Wanting to walk in Dowdy's shoes, back in October, which is National Disabilities Awareness Month, I decided to go blind, temporarily. And with my blindfold on and my walking cane in hand, I quickly adopted a new found respect for the visually impaired.

"If you wanted me to, I could walk on your right and keep you in a straight line," Dowdy said.

But even more challenging than walking in a straight line...walking in a straight line crossing a busy intersection.

Dowdy says he doesn't rely on walking bells at some intersections in Huntington because some drivers don't obey them anyway.

"Right then, I probably would have went just because there was nothing coming, but I wouldn't have went because of the bell going because I never listen for the bell," he said.

In all, I was blind for about four hours, which is nothing compared to 21 years. But it was an experience unlike any other. It allowed me the opportunity to get a taste of Dowdy's everyday life and to see the world through his eyes.