Jasen Bracy always wanted to play football, but retinal cancer he developed as a toddler took his eyesight by the time he was age 7. How could he play a fast-paced contact sport like football if he couldn't see?

This was the question before him. Yet young Jasen would not be dissauded. As he got older, he began calling around to different youth leagues to see if there were any teams that would take a chance on a kid who was sold out to following guidance and direction to make his dreams come true. He found just such a in the Modesto Raiders.

"The way he was on the phone, I just said, 'Come on we'll figure it out,'" coach David Nichols told CBS News.

Jasen started out as a running back, but soon advanced to ... wait for it ... quarterback!

"It's all memory," Jasen said. "It's all about having trust in the player, the receiver and the team. I have to trust them 100%.

Upworthy reports:

Bracy's teammates guide him into position on the field and his dad coaches him from the sidelines using a walkie-talkie that transmits to his helmet. "After the play starts, I may tell him, 'Hey, run to your right, let's get upfield,' or 'Watch out, somebody's coming to hit you,'" Bracy Sr. said.

All that trust, all that deep leaning into guidance and direction seems to have paid off. Not long after, Bracy led the Raiders to a 33-6 win.

My wife an I took a vacation to Boston. We love to travel when we can and we tend to try to see everything a person can possibly see. On our first day in Boston we walked the Freedom Trail. We could have taken a 2 hour tour (with a tour guide!), but we wanted to see it all. We wanted to do it our way. We took the better part of the morning and afternoon seeing it all. I'm not sure how far we walked, but it was miles.  Near the end of the Freedom Trail you find the Bunker Hill monument.  It's 294 steps up the 221 foot tall monument. That's about 22 stories after walking all day. You also have to come down the steps. 

*Stair number 200 in the climb to the top of the Bunker Hill Monument.

Once we got outside, my legs were so weak that I was wobbly.  I had to stop and gather myself, but it was only about 4pm and we had the USS Constitution, the Boston Public Library, and Cheers to see that day.  So we kept going.  In the middle of the evening tour of the Boston Library, I realized that I couldn't walk down any of the steps.  I was holding onto rails and "floating down."  It was the same trying to go down the stairs to the subway. I was beginning to wonder if I was going to be injured for the rest of our trip!

Have you ever had the experience of travelling to a foreign destination, only to have the locals swamp you with offers to guide you to all the best attractions. It's a fairly common occurrance. Of course, you'll want to do your homework to be sure your local guide is honest and trustworthy. If so, you invite them into the vehicle to guide and direct your journey. In most cases, it's a win-win -- the local makes a little extra money, and you end up getting the tour of a lifetime.

Because of their intimate knowledge of the locale, they are able to guide you to all the best areas to visit, as well as warn you about which areas to avoid because of the danger to tourists.  It's tough, though, to follow the directions of a stranger. With a guide book in one hand, and GPS in the other, we are often confident that we could make as good or better decisions about how to proceed, especially when the local guide suggests you veer off the beaten path.

He might direct you to take an unmarked dirt road, or to push hard up the side of a steep hill. He might direct you to step out of the vehicle all together and into a dense forest or crowed plaza.

As the driver, of course, you have the last say of where to go. But if you've done your homework and have full confidence in your guide, you'll end up with some great pictures and great experiences in places you'd never find in your commercial tour book.