Progressed Myopia by Ana

Progressed Myopia by Ana - August 2022 Scholarship Essay

In a place where success is described as purpose, I developed myopia. Myopia is described as an eye condition in which objects from far away appear blurry. I grew up in a catholic private school in Puerto Rico where there wasn’t much diversity. While all the students were different in their own unique way, their mindset was very much alike, which can be expected given their common nationality and culture. In this environment, I found it hard to learn about and preserve my nationality and identity as the only foreigner among my classmates. I was born in Mexico, with a different perspective and culture that many of my classmates didn't quite understand. This made me feel alienated. I couldn’t see the beauty and richness of my culture as many of my classmates found it odd and discriminated against what they couldn’t recognize. Unconsciously, I wanted to fit in. My Mexican accent slowly faded, my traditions slowly became more of a commitment than a comfort. My myopia worsened, all for the sake of feeling accepted in a place where I stood out.

In 2017, Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico. We felt we had to leave in order to seek better opportunities. By blind luck, the first flight my family could get on landed in Orlando, a city that is known for its tourist parks, hosting people from all over the world with widely different perspectives. This diversity is also reflected in the people actually living there. Starting school in Orlando with different people gave me a sense of acceptance as I was not the only one with a different story. Soon, I began to learn from strangers who came from all over the world; they slowly became my friends. With them, I began to appreciate different cultures, points of view, religions, traditions, habits, heritage, etc. From the warm loud hispanic culture, I learned to appreciate hard work and to not take family for granted. From the exquisite colorful Indian culture, I learned how food goes beyond its taste and how colors can radiate euphoria. From the historically rich Asian culture, I learned how there's beauty in simplicity and the importance of passed down traditions that also incorporate the new era. By listening, and truly seeing the different stories, I became aware of my myopia; I now began to see how the diversity in this world is what makes it rich, beautiful and interesting.

For so long, I was focusing on “Why can't people see?” instead of “Why don't people want to see?”. Well, the answer is simple, sometimes we prefer to blind ourselves to those things we don’t recognize. I was once living in a bubble, protected by my myopia. Now, because of my forced relocation, I have grown to realize there is something outside my blurred barrier that I chose to ignore. Diversity is beautiful in this world and without it life wouldn’t be as loud, as colorful, and as fascinating as it is. Perhaps light cannot focus on my retina, but I can now appreciate the colors that life gives us. I have become a young adult, who wears big round glasses that are too big for her face, attempting to not only correct her myopia but change her perspective of life.

In conclusion, an academic goal I wish to accomplish is to evaluate myself. No longer be blinded by whats ahead but be able to see beyond the things presented to me. By doing so, I can have a clear picture of what success means to me and plan out ways I can become successful in my college career. I wish to get to know myself better in order to not only become the best version of myself, but for others as well. This will later help me achieve my goals as I will be strong minded and to me, that is the first step towards success.