“The first time I studied my own eyes in the mirror. Seeing their deep brown lifeless color, swallowed by a black ring gave me an overwhelming feeling of shame. Especially when it seems like everyone around me was blessed with colors found in the deepest of forests and blended in paintings. I’ll never forget how much contempt I felt for my own eyes, their deep and despairing sight. And to imagine having to love someone with the same set brought me to tears. When my mother found me and asked me why I had been crying, I demanded that she explain how she could be so beautiful, and I so ugly. I still hold on to the melody of her voice as she told me,”