20/20

I got my first pair of glasses at a young age.

Up until then, the world was a blur. I just accepted that as reality and assumed that’s what everyone else saw. Too afraid to ask to sit in the front of the class because I assumed “if others can see from the back, so can I.”

I wore an eye patch throughout the 3rd grade. I had it on over my good eye to make my weaker one stronger. The blessings of an astigmatism.

I was told by an optometrist that as I got older, as I went through puberty and my growth spurt, my vision was going to get worse. As my height went up, so would my prescription.

Eventually, I stopped growing. And my vision leveled out. After months of having to update my eyes again and again, after watching the world get fuzzier and more out of focus, I stopped.

Still legally blind, but at least consistent. I got use to the blurs of my world. Even without my contacts in, I was able to navigate the pixilated life around me.

I still couldn’t make out faces. Or read signs. But I became comfortable and content.

That’s why I was so surprised when I met you. My vision had been bad my whole life, but I truly thought I was able to see the good in you.

Guess it was just another blur. Something I’ll never understand from the back of the class.

At least for the first time, I’m growing and it’s making my vision better.