SEEING THE WORLD IN A WHOLE NEW LIGHT. Growing up, I always had perfect vision, and it seemed like everyone around me who wore glasses had something I didn’t. Oddly enough, I wanted glasses. At the time, I thought it was cool, and not knowing about non-prescription lenses, I wished for my eyesight to get worse just so I could wear specs. It sounds ridiculous now, but back then, I thought it would make me look more mature. In high school, I became so focused on my studies that….
Growing up, I always had perfect vision, and it seemed like everyone around me who wore glasses had something I didn’t. Oddly enough, I wanted glasses. At the time, I thought it was cool, and not knowing about non-prescription lenses, I wished for my eyesight to get worse just so I could wear specs. It sounds ridiculous now, but back then, I thought it would make me look more mature. In high school, I became so focused on my studies that I would read late into the night with a flashlight, straining my eyes until I started having headaches. But I was happy because, eventually, my eyesight weakened enough to get my dream glasses.
At first, it was exciting. I got my specs with a -0.25 prescription, not too bad, but enough to see distant objects more clearly. Over time, my eyesight worsened, and I became fully dependent on glasses. I wore them constantly, thinking I’d achieved what I wanted. That changed the day I tried contact lenses for the first time for a competition. When I put them in, it felt like I was seeing the world through my own eyes again, and I realized how beautiful the world really was. The glasses, despite helping me see, had always distorted reality a little, but with contacts, it was like I had perfect, God-given vision again.
That day, everything around me seemed clearer than ever. Trees, buildings, the sky—I couldn’t believe how much I had been missing. It made me realize how important it is to appreciate what we’re given naturally. I regretted wishing away my perfect vision, and it taught me to appreciate the beauty of the world, and more importantly, to be content with who I truly am.
