Hello, my name’s Rebecca and this is the story of how I went blind. When I was 14, I was all about competition. I competed in every way. If there was a way to show I was the best at something - I did. I not only was part of every athletic practice my school offered but during tests, I’d time myself against others. When we were on breaks, we’d try different games. Card games, handheld video games, everything. One time we played patty cake, and I tried to rush the other patty caker. I would train myself to be better against my classmates, by competing against the unbeatable. Arm wrestling my Dad, trying to run faster than cars passing by, and so on. I played games against the unbeatable. Well, one day, I truly met my match. There was a classmate by the name of Markus Reimer. Markus was a short, scrawny kid from the grade beneath me. He wore glasses and a quadruple breasted suit jacket to school every day. People referred to him as “Mr. Lawyer” as a lawyer’s apparently dressed this way. Teens don’t know anything. And little Markus knew that he was the best at his hobby, he had also heard I was always unbeatable, so he challenged me to a duel of the eyes. We met at lunch, along with a large group of children. And sitting at a picnic table, we began a staring contest. Sadly, I lost, due to Markus readjusting his head and causing the Sun to glare in his glasses. Something he was known for, I learned soon after. I felt absolutely defeated, what a poor way to lose. Now, most other kids would have said something and asked for a rematch. But due to how I was raised, I believed in overcoming obstacles ourselves. If I couldn’t beat the glare, then I didn’t deserve to take down Mr. Lawyer. Then I began my training, starting by recreating glares off my Father’s car. I would time myself. 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, a minute... and so on. And after each session, everything would look black for a passing moment. Then I upped my game. I used heavy duty flashlights from Dad’s shop. Again, pushing my time limits, and again, getting these visionless periods after. Although, the blackness started to last longer. But I figured it wasn’t enough. If I were to beat him, I had to take on the biggest opponent yet. I had to challenge the Sun. And so I began my timing, and after a short while, I blinked. And it was the blink that didn’t end. Although I had separated my eyelids, the light did not return. I assumed it was due to the blackness that typically followed these training sessions. But after 5 minutes had passed, I grew worried. I called for help. My Dad ran over, I told him I couldn’t see, and we went to a Doctor. The Doctor confirmed the worries I had. I was now blind and would never see again. Worst of all, I would never beat Mr. Lawyer in and staring contest. Unless I had my eyes removed, and afterall I no longer needed them, but sadly the Doctor said that would be impossible. Personally, I felt that if he had the right amount of motivation, it would’ve been. But I digress. Then I went back to school, where I had to tell everyone what happened. People avoided me more than I ever, nobody wants to compete against the blind girl. Partly because they feel bad, partly because I very clearly had some psychological pitfalls. And once Dad found out, I got a therapist to find the root of my need to be the best. Which in the end worked well, and had to do with Mom not being around, but that’s a the story for a different day. Ultimately, I learned that it’s okay not to win, everybody has things they’re special at, and there’s no need to push yourself into unhealthy extremes. Thanks for listening!
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