I ran my fingertips over the the small bumps and grooves that made up the front page—and every page for that matter—of the “Michigan Daily” newspaper. It has been awhile since I have kept up with current events.

Truthfully, I haven’t been making the effort to keep up with anything since it’s hard for me to read what’s going on half of the time.

Ever since the new President somehow convinced the American people and Congress to outlaw written words, the world has been a very different place.

Picking up braille wasn’t an easy task, and it has been hell trying to teach it to my 9 year old.

The written word ban went into immediate effect when Marley was only 6 years old.

They say that it’s easy for a child to learn new languages quickly, however this case was very different.

When you grow up reading and writing the alphabet, it is nearly impossible to forget words altogether after that.

And the way the world is adjusting is tragic. No one wants to learn anything anymore.

The only people who benefit from such an extreme way of living are the people who are born blind. A wordless world is all they have ever known.

“Mommy what does that say?”

I look down at Marley who is pointing to the newspaper.

I feel another layer of exhaustion settle over me like a thick blanket in the winter time.

“Grown-up things, baby” I sigh. I was much too tired to translate the newspaper for myself, much less to a 9 year old at 7:30 in the morning.

“Come one, grab your things and let’s get ready to walk out to the bus stop” I say.

I help Marley put her picture books and braille books into her book bag and we leave the house.

As we come to the end of the street, I stare at the faded red octagon standing in the corner. No written words, but we all know it used to say ‘STOP’ in white bold letters.

Now, all we have to rely on is our memory.

I scoff to myself. What a shitty world.

I’d write that word verbatim if I could.

“What’s so funny?” Marley looks at me from the corner of her eye. Her steps were matching mine.

I stare at her faded blue converse. They even removed the word ‘converse’ from the shoes. Ridiculous.

“Nothing. I just thought of something silly” I look back up at her and smile.

We arrived at the corner just as the bus pulled up to the corner.

I watch as Marley steps into the bus and disappears behind the folding glass door.

As the bus drives off, I stand there and stare at the back of the long, yellow vehicle before it completely leaves my line of sight.

If someone would have told me 5 years ago that I would be seeing braille on every single yellow school bus in the Unites States I would have laughed.

Just like I discovered 3 years ago, I realize that this is, in fact, no laughing matter at all.