Prologue
When I was little, mom always enters me into those kiddie beauty pageants. And I don’t mean to brag, but I’m always in the top three. Never a winner but never a loser neither. My mom always quips that it’s because of my eyes that I got from her. And dad will be all “No way, it’s her killer smile I taught her that never fails to captivate the audience”. The point is I was that pretty. I have a long, straight dark hair and a set of deep, brown eyes. I also have a tan skin tone—all of which can be traced from my Hispanic heritage. I was flawless, nonetheless. And not to be conceited or anything, but those haven’t changed up to now.
But if there’s one thing that I would like to change about myself, it would be my eyes. I have very poor eyesight that requires me to wear REALLY thick glasses that, no matter how fashionable I dress, makes me look like a total nerd. And when I said that I was flawless, I mean that WITHOUT my glasses.
I remember the first time I got those glasses. I knew they would ruin my life as soon as I saw myself wearing it. It was one week before the beginning of my first year in high school—very timely, I know. My younger sister often teases me at home— and from that, I can already picture kids at my school being meaner. So I practically begged my parents for eye contacts every day, but they remained firm on their decision and tells me contacts are “too dangerous”, which is a parental phrase that when encrypted means ‘too expensive’. And from what I’ve learned for the past 13 years of living with them, there’s no way I can beat my tightfisted parents whenever money’s involved.
I wasn’t used being a loser so you can imagine the shock during my first two weeks at school. And if you do, perhaps you’ll also understand the hell I went through every day—though there’s a huge chance that you DON’T.
I am now graduating that ‘hell’. It was a miracle that I survived ‘cause believe me, there are some times that I thought I can’t make it at all. But during my second year, I was motivated when I found that there was a way to free me from my thick, nerdy glasses. I found out about this laser eye surgery that can make your eyes 20-20 without having to wear either glasses or contacts. The only problem is it’s REALLY expensive. And I know what you’re thinking—my parents didn’t buy me contacts and I expect them to pay for a much more costly alternative? I must be out of my mind!!! Maybe, but I did had it all planned.
For the past three years, I’ve drowned myself in studying to be the class valedictorian (though I only came in second). That meant skipping parties no matter how fun they seemed, rejecting the boy I liked since 7th grade and going out for only once a week(during Saturdays)—that was a HUGE sacrifice for a teenage girl, especially the second. But that was only for my dad. To please mom, I have to keep my room clean at all times, do my own laundry and occasionally help her around the house. I also made dinner during mother and father’s day, gave them gifts on their birthdays and lastly, I haven’t disrespected them in any way since. In short, I’ve been a perfect daughter for the past three years and yes, I was THAT desperate to make it happen. I may be committing a sin for lying to them all this time, but I was THAT desperate to get an eye surgery—I was THAT desperate.
