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Mihir Bhakta Mrs. Gardner English 10 Honors, Period 1 18 January 2014

I for an Eye Prancing around from student to student, my music teacher in sixth grade zealously approached her keen musicians to test her students if they knew how to play the recorder. As she came closer and closer to my table group, I felt my heart beat accelerate, my nerves intensify, and my breathing hasten. It was my turn next. I anxiously picked up my beige recorder, which by then felt like lifting a thousand pounds, and tortuously blew into the instrument, unable to see the hazy projection of The Star Spangled Banner that laid in front of my eyes. Missing many notes, my teacher stood with disappointment, and without a doubt failed me. Being the only one that failed, I was the laughing-stock of the classrooman insignificant twelve year old boy that could not play a simple instrument. Sitting in the far east corner of the classroom, I prudently think to myself how vital the eye really is. Eyes without them, we would not be able to read; without eyes, we would not be able comprehend how fabulous Beyonce is; without eyes, we would not be able to watch our favorite Disney film and without eyes, we would not be able to ingest the exquisite sunsets of Maui. My eyes however, failed me at this given moment. My eyes have yet to explore the world, have yet to see the light dawning from the darkness; and have yet to see my distant future that lies ahead of me. Vision was something I took for granted. I even aspired to have impeccable visual prowess just like the characters in my favorite anime show, Naruto.

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Curious about my sudden vision blurriness, I researched the possible diseases that could have infected me. My jaws dropped as I came across this eye disease as I distinctly remember reading this from an article from the Everyday Health blog: Cataracts occurs when the normally crystal clear lens of the eye becomes cloudy, which causes faded colors, blurry vision and problems seeing though glare. Never has it crossed my mind that I might be diagnosed with such health problem after the twelve years of perfect existence. After being blessed as being golden from my parents and grandparents for having perfect health and not acquiring health issues such as asthma and diabetes, which is notorious for running in my family, the thought of having a health issue ceased to be the cause of intense stress as I strived furiously in being the only person in my family to have the best health. A few days had passed, and a long car ride awaited me as I had to go to the ophthalmology office for my brothers annual appointment. I pretended to go to sleep, in attempts to escape from the inevitable, my fathers frivolous game of being able to see road signs from the furthest distance. Of course, my father was able to detect my deceit as he plotted to get my favorite mango ice cream while I was still sleeping in the car just to awaken me. As we took turns seeing how close we had to get to the upcoming signs to be able to see them clearly, my father noticed that something was peculiar about my eyesight. He detected that it too was my time to get glasses as well since I was not able to see many of the signs until they were about few feet away. Mortified that my father had found out about my secret, terror struck my body as he called to make an appointment for me as well. But I dont want glasses! I pouted while crossing my arms.

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Well, too bad. Anyways, glasses are supposed to help you see well. I got my glasses when I was around your age! Even Dilan got them at a younger age than you. Why havent you told me earlier that you needed glasses? My father friskily scratched his head and gazed into the rear-view mirror of our car. I I dont know? I whispered in a mellow voice. What? he cupped his ear as if it would make his hearing any better. I dont know. I thought that you would get too worried for no reason. I repeated hesitantly. Worried? Theres nothing to be worried about, its actually the right time for people around your age group to get glasses. In fact, youre eye sight worsens as you get older, and glasses reassures that you are able to see more clearly. My father retorted after clutching the brake to exit the freeway. After my fathers encouraging speech, I became more optimistic about getting glasses and agreed to go to the appointment. My eyes were checked and the doctors prescribed me a pair of glasses to be worn for looking at far distances. Getting glasses were not as terrible as I imagined them to be. It allowed for my murky vision to be purified and become more coherent. As for the next three years that proceeded, my eyes developed to the real world, even though in reality, my vision was increasingly getting worse as each day galloped away. My eyes dilated and absorbed the different lifestyle that my adolescence had provided for me. It was strange to see everyone and everything around you suddenly change as you grow a few years older. My perspective of the world began to appear much more coherent after the few short years of being exposed to the realities of the world. Though I may have seen things that can be the

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most detrimental or life-changing events such as having your best friends move away to another state, or having your thirteen year-old cousin gruesomely trampled by reckless drunk drivers. Yet with these visions of blood splattered roads, and of the doctor stating the mortifying news that she could not have been saved, I managed to grow more maturenot taking anything for granted. My inability to see projectiles at far distances have made conspicuous changes in my outlooks on life. Life can be the most serene, and graceful gift anyone can ask for, or it can even be an inescapable dungeon of false hopesit is just ones perception on how one sees life. It is not every day, where one lives in complete darkness and walks on the boulevard of broken dreams. I too had my own perception of life as whole. I envisioned a canvas where my dreams may come true and I envision an abyss where all turmoil can diminish. With my newly acquired glasses, not only was I able to see more clearly, but it broadened my outlooks on life, as I came to conclusion that life is too short for one to be depressed, or unhappy. Furthermore, these glasses helped me envision a coherent future that shines through the emerging sunlight from a cloudy day, and forget about the hazy memories of my gloomy past.

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Works Cited Key, Francis Scott. "Star Spangled Banner Lyrics - USA Flag Site." Star Spangled Banner Lyrics - USA Flag Site. N.p., 2010. Web. 23 Jan. 2014. Krucik, George, MD. Blindness: Types, Causes & Symptoms. Rep. N.p., 2014. Web. Jan. 2014. Thompson, Dennis, Jr. "What Causes Blindness?" EverydayHealth.com. N.p., 04 May 2010. Web. 23 Jan. 2014. 22