Friday, July 5, 2013

Surviving a Day Without Visual Aid

Today was probably the first day since I started wearing glasses in third grade that I went a whole day without wearing glasses. Since I could barely see the faces of people a meter away from me and read the words of something a foot away from me, I felt a bit uneasy being in public even though nothing really happened due to my bad vision. I actually exceeded my own expectations when my teacher commended me for my lab results. This was possible most likely because I was already familiar with many aspects of the lab, but straining my vision was certainly uncomfortable. Now as I'm writing this blog, I can't read it without hovering my head over the keyboard to see the words.

Even though not wearing glasses did not take much away from my day, it was personally very frustrating not being able to see the world with a clear vision. Upon losing my glasses, I pledged to myself to consider consequences of every action I take much more scrupulously. Sometimes, the past must be remembered in order to learn and grow from them. Fortunately, I have a spare pair of glasses back in California that my parents offered to expedite to me. The prescription is not as strong, but at least I won't be blind for the next week. Today was possibly one of the most mentally challenging days to me as I fought myself to be as normal as possible without being able to see many things. I suppose this was a completely unexpected experience, but it seriously couldn't have happened if I weren't with the ILC this summer. If I lost my glasses elsewhere, I wouldn't have had to deal with the problem by myself and could've easily retreat to the comfort and protection of home. It may sound silly, but performing a lab and going around in public half blind has actually made me a bolder individual.

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