Seeing things from a different perspective

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The doctor said I won’t be able to see properly for the next six to eight hours. I should bring a companion who could help me go home because I would have difficulty seeing. Internet sites said that people who underwent the procedure couldn’t drive home, and had to arrange their transportation before hand. I should just keep activities to a minimum, and rest the day off…

Yesterday, I had an eye exam to check my retinas. The doctor dilated my pupils using eyedrops… the drops effectively reduced my reading capacity to zilch, but distant objects remained clear. In short, I was far-sighted for about eight hours.

What did the world look like through dilated pupils? During the first few hours, I felt like I stepped into a dreamy, surreal world: the sharp contrasts between bright and dark reminded me of the final scenes in LOTR: Return of the King. I could not distinguish white from silver, or even from yellow. The dullest greens burst as if they were neon signs. Yellow flashers were as fiery as sunlight. Though the sky was cloudy during the midafternoon, what I saw could be mistaken as scenes during high noon.

This was even stranger: I couldn’t read any text smaller than font size 16. Pictures were blurry patches of color. This was a nightmare to any bookworm, who would rather pass the time reading a good book than going around the mall. But because of this temporary disability, instead of resting, I just walked around the mall, ’til the medicine wore off.

And did I insist on driving? You bet I did! Did I bring a companion? Heck, no! And did I stay home? Nope… I even drove to a classmate’s birthday party mere four hours after my exam. I figured that since I was able to have chocofrap with cousins at starbucks just three hours after the dentist surgically removed two impacted wisdom teeth, I could still attend this party four hours after the exam.

More importantly, I experienced a paradigm shift yesterday. All along, I always thought that far-sighted people were in a better position that near-sighted ones because they could see distances while myopic people are blind without their glasses or contact lenses. Now I know I was wrong. It was difficult being far-sighted because I couldn’t eat properly, or read normally. It was just as difficult as being near-sighted.

The grass isn’t necessarily greener on the other side of the fence.

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