I have been taught the value or power of the tongue and how you can speak things into reality. Of course I have, I'm African. But what if this was holding me back rather than helping me grow? What if accepting my reality is how I will overcome my challenges? Because ultimately, all these years of trying not to be who I apparently am have yielded nothing but anxiety and a fluctuating confidence.

Honestly, after wearing it my whole life I felt naked when I dropped my mask of being a “normal” person who just had “a bit of an eye problem”. I mean, come on, my friends at school helped me take notes in class!

[Masking: present participle. Hiding / to conceal.]

Masking is actually not uncommon for people with disabilities, particularly invisible disabilities. It is a term I learnt about after I accepted myself and vowed to never let my disability fuel my self-esteem. I finally understood what I had been doing for most of my adult life, because there is a difference between being unaware that you have a condition and ignoring the fact that you have one and trying to behave as though said condition is not happening. The latter is where masking falls.