COLLEYVILLE, Texas — A 5th grader in Colleyville has an entirely new view of the world today. And, also thanks to his elementary school classmates, he has a pretty sharp focus on the value of some very good friends.
When Jaron Casillas was very young, his parents discovered that he saw the world a bit differently: a Texas sunrise for example.
"I heard his voice in the backseat say, 'Mommy look a the beautiful green sunrise,'" Jaron's mom Lindsay Casillas recalled. "And I looked at it and I thought, oh dear."
Jaron, they discovered that day, is color blind. Purples, greens and blues, for example, he sees as just different shades of gray.
But now in the 5th grade, at Glenhope Elementary in Colleyville, his teacher and classmates were talking about their favorite colors. Jaron revealed to them that certain colors were difficult for him to distinguish: that he just sees the world differently. His teacher asked if he knew about special glasses that could help. Jaron said yes, but that he understood that they were expensive.
Two weeks later, after Jaron's classmates told the teacher they wanted to get him those special glasses, their pool of allowance money and other donations totaled enough to get him two pair, indoor and outdoor, with $88 left over to perhaps help someone else.
On Oct. 19, the teacher and students surprised Jaron with the gift.
"They donated their own allowances, happily, because they love you and they care about you," his teacher Christina Hayes told him.
"Wow," Jaron said as he scanned the classroom with its now sudden change in hue.
"My heart soars to see his face, and he's had a smile on the entire time. He's still smiling," said Hayes.
"I'm just like, is this what everybody else has been seeing the whole time," Jaron said as he looked around the room.
But then, an impromptu recess allowed Jaron to try the second pair of glasses, a darker pair, designed to compensate for bright sunlight.
"Yeah, pretty cool right?" Hayes asked him as they stood outside with his classmates.
"It's very exciting," she said. "That smile won't come off his face he's got a huge smile."
And Jaron's parents Tim and Lindsay Casillas, who attended the classroom presentation, hope their son's vision isn't the only change he will see.
"I think he sees a sense of what true friendship is and caring people around him, and I hope he just carries this with him and he remembers this day for a long time."
"I think today the world sometimes seems a little bleak. And when I got the call that these kids were doing this for Jaron, I think that's what this story is really about," Lindsay Casillas said. "The hearts of these children in a time like this is so inspiring."
"I'm just really excited because I know that my friends are really true friends for doing this for me," said Jaron.
So, whatever color friendship is, in Colleyville that friendship is now about as vibrant as it can be.