My eyesight deteriorated when I was very young, and it was 100% my fault. When I was in fourth grade, my mother bought me a 50-book world literature collection. Now, that’s when we had no computers, cellphones, or the Internet. Those books were pretty much my entire source of leisure and entertainment other than sports. I fell in love with what I discovered in those books.
The fact that I was reading a lot wasn’t the issue. The problem was that, despite many warnings and scoldings from my parents, I read the books under the blanket at night, using a flashlight. That completely destroyed my eyes.
One day, there was an eye exam at school. But I couldn't read the largest letters at the top of the chart! My teacher thought I was fooling around, but when he learned that I was blind as a bat, he immediately sent me home. My mom then took me to get my first pair of glasses.
Wearing glasses was uncomfortable and annoying especially because I enjoyed sports and the outdoors. I couldn’t play soccer or baseball. I still ran on the track team, but that’s about all I could do with poor eyesight–just run and stay in the lane.
In high school, I played football, but I had to wear thick and heavy glasses known as “Kurt Rambis” glasses. (If you don’t know who he is, look him up. He was a Laker back in the 80s). But, the glasses fogged up quickly, so I had to take off my helmet and wipe the lenses frequently. That was really, really annoying and uncomfortable.
During my graduate school years, my ophthalmologist informed me that I had become “legally blind.” But, due to severe astigmatism, I couldn’t get lasik surgery. And, in the past two years, my eyesight became worse–all the staring into computer screens during the COVID made my eyes go terribly bad. When I learned that astigmatism was no longer a barrier to lasik, I decided to get the surgery.
Why do I share this? Because I think children can be foolish and stubborn to their detriment. I should have listened to my parents when they told me to go to bed and stop reading books under the blanket. A few months of doing that ruined my eyesight. And, I’ve been “suffering” for the past 45 years because I didn’t listen to my parents who knew better.
Everyone has a tendency to disobey authority and do whatever he/she wants to do. We argue, resist, and defy advice and guidance from those who care about us. Oh, how I wish I could go back in time and be more respectful and obedient to my parents! I tell young people this all the time: "I beg of you to heed the advice of those whom God has placed in your life. They love you and care about you enough to speak into your life. Do not consider them burdensome!" Young people, let 2022 be the year in which you chose to hear the wisdom of your predecessors. You'll be glad to have made that choice.
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