A Different Lens by Amor

A Different Lens by Amor - May 2025 Scholarship Essay

During a routine eye exam, the optometrist saw something extremely unusual. After several tests, they concluded that I had Glaucoma. Glaucoma is an eye condition caused by high pressure in a person’s eye that essentially damages the optic nerve, eventually causing blindness. Detection at such a young age is very rare -- in fact only 1 in 5,000 children have it. It’s usually found in people over the age of sixty, and by the time they're diagnosed, immediate action has to be taken before the person starts to go blind.
My parents were devastated and decided to get a second and even third opinion, but all the Opthamologists gave the same diagnosis. In order to regulate the pressure in my eye and prohibit blindness, I would have to take eye drops everyday for the rest of my life. I have always been squeamish about things being close to my eye, so the next morning my dad woke me up and told me to pull down my bottom eyelid. As I looked upwards the champagne colored ceiling stared back at me, my dad used comforting words to make sure I wasn’t scared. But as he began to squeeze out the droplet, I couldn’t help, but to revert my eyes from the ceiling to the clear droplet of medicine coming towards my eye. I began blinking profusely! As the hours passed, I started to cry and as he continued to struggle with me, he cried as well. This situation was traumatic for me, but I cannot imagine how it must have felt for my parents having to force me to do something so painful.
Now that I am 18 years old, I have learned to cope with Glaucoma and have been independently administering my eye drops extremely well. At every six month Glaucoma appointment I've had the opportunity to observe both Ophthalmologists and nursing staff and I now know my purpose is to be in the medical field where I will show compassion towards patients while aiding and supporting their healing. As I pursue my aspirations within the medical field, my instinctive compassion lights my path, driving me to extend genuine care and empathy towards those in need. Jackie Chan stated, “Sometimes it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a person’s life.” This is a quote that deeply resonates with me and my view of the world. The amount of compassion that was shown to me as a seven year old diagnosed with Glaucoma was beautifully overwhelming.
In high school I took a course titled Essentials of Health Career where we learned about the essentials needed while working within the medical field. Throughout the duration of the course, we were able to earn our CPR certification, learned how to perform the Heimlich maneuver, manually measured blood pressure, document charts, and more. I thoroughly enjoyed this hands-on class that gave me true insight to what it’s like as a medical professional.
Using the information and skills that I've learned, I plan to bring more awareness to Glaucoma and make sure that young people are getting yearly eye check ups. Leading with this intention, requires me to motivate and inspire others. It will take hard work, perseverance, and deeply rooting myself in my core values. With financial assistance from various scholarship programs, I am one step closer to continuing my education at Howard University where I will receive my Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN) and eventually pass my NCLEX-RN exam.