As a child, I always wished I wore glasses. I felt people were going to underrate my intelligence because I don’t wear glasses.
It didn’t matter to me that I topped most of the time while in primary school. I still felt those kids who wore glasses were seen to be more intelligent, so I wanted so desperately to wear glasses.
I remember when I was in boarding secondary school. In my JSS 2 or so, there was an eye test exercise in my school. Everyone including students and teachers were to have their eyes tested.
I joined the queue for my class, and I got tested when it got to my turn. I was so disappointed when the result came out and I was told that my eyes are perfect, and I wouldn’t need glasses. I envied all my friends who had glasses recommended for them.
So, I decided to join the queue again. This time around, I forced myself to cry, and scratched my eyes for nothing. I thought that would make the result appear positive for eye problem. I had the test done, and it still came out clear.
Now, this was becoming frustrating for me.
Well, I decided to join the queue again determined to cry and scratch my eyes even more when it gets to my turn. But I was caught. One of the team of optometrists was like “Haven’t I check you once or twice since the exercise began?”
I was chased out of the queue, and my Principal even told me that she doesn’t want to see me around there again. That I’m fine.
So, one of the team members asked me to come. She asked what the problem was, and I lied that I had difficulty seeing, and I think they need to recommend reading glasses for me as a matter of urgency. That no matter the price, my parents will pay.
She laughed and said “We’ve checked your eyes twice, and they are fine. Do you want fancy glasses? We have plain glasses that look like recommended glasses. We have them for kids like you who fancy wearing glasses, but with no medical need for them.”
And that was how this woman asked me to tell my Dad or Mum to pick up a note from my teacher when they come around on visiting day or vacation day.
Long story short, my parents refused to indulge me by buying me plain glasses. My Mum told me that if I needed glasses to feel intelligent, then that’s a sign of unintelligence. My Mum felt that if they get me glasses, I might never accept myself as intelligent without glasses, so my parents unanimously refused to get me plain glasses.
They talked me into believing that with or without wearing glasses, I was a very intelligent girl.
Now, I was a child obsessed with glasses. I don’t know how this thing got into my head, all I know is that people who used glasses look more intelligent. I still think so till today.
I was already in the University before I fully outgrew the obsession and urge to get myself glasses for no reason.
I’ve always been one who is obsessed with intelligence, IQ and my cognitive skills.
Tell me I’m ugly, and I consider it a random insult like telling me “you are crazy”.
But tell me that I’m dumb or any line to insinuate that I’m of low IQ or intelligence, and that to me is the worst insult I can get. On Facebook, it will pain me so much, I’m most likely going to block you. 🤕
I have always wanted to flaunt my intelligence, and all my life till the age of 20, I thought wearing reading glasses was the best way to scream to everyone that I was intelligent.
But after years of doing some growing up, I came to accept that I’m a highly intelligent woman who is also fortunate to have good eyes, and thus don’t need glasses. And I came to accept that the absence of reading glasses is not the absence of high IQ.
My both parents started wearing glasses in their 40s. I’m most likely going to start wearing glasses at that age too.
I’m now even making efforts to make sure I go without glasses for a long time. I asked my friend who is an optometrist what I can do to protect my eyes, considering the fact that my long term career would require me to face computer screens a lot, which depreciates the eyes faster. I have grown from a young girl who desperately wanted reading glasses to a young woman who is making effort to protect her eyes so she can go a long way without needing reading glasses.
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From @chuka