To See or Not to See

By Nancy Shuman -
I was sixteen when I learned that trees had individual leaves; at least, ones visible from more than a few feet away. I literally gasped in wonder when I put on my first pair of glasses and watched wide blobs of green become defined, distinct, individual shapes that waved and fluttered in the wind.  Having been nearsighted since childhood, I'd grown up unaware that the world was anything other than one huge, smeary blur.  
 
In an instant my faulty perception changed....
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