It was a beautiful morning. I got ready for school, had my breakfast and said goodbye to my mum. As I stepped outside and walked towards the school, one of my classmates joined me and we started talking about random things. Just then, he asked, “Will you go for a check-up?”

I asked, “What check-up?”

“Don’t you remember? The eye specialists are coming today. They will check each student’s eyesight and prescribe glasses or anything else they might need.”

I was reluctant at first, but I thought, “Why not have a check-up? It would be a different experience.”

“Yeah, it would be fun. I will definitely go,” I replied.

After the assembly, it was announced that we had to form a line and go to the auditorium, where the doctors were seated with their equipment. We made a queue and excitedly walked towards the hall. As we entered, I was stunned for a moment because I had never seen those machines before in my life.

A sudden fear struck me: “What if my eyes are weak?”

The check-up began. One by one, the students took their turns. The doctors prescribed glasses to some while others needed nothing. I noticed a couple of students looking disheartened after learning that their eyesight was weak.

But all my friends came out fine. I felt relieved and convinced myself that I would be fine, too.

Then it was my turn. My heart began to race. They asked me to place my chin on a machine and look inside. After that, I was sent to another station where I had to read letters on a chart. Some of them were blurry and a few were almost invisible.

Soon, I learnt that I had a problem with my eyesight and that my prescription was –0.75. I felt heartbroken when they said I would have to wear glasses.

I went back to my classroom and kept looking at my classmates, then at myself, thinking that from now on I would look different. The lessons changed, and teachers came and went, but I was stuck on the thought of wearing glasses. I just couldn’t get it out of my head.

The next day, all those who had been prescribed spectacles received theirs, neatly packed and labelled with their names. I got mine too, but I did not wear them. I simply placed them inside my bag. After a while, the teacher noticed and asked why I was not wearing mine.

With a heavy heart, I told her that I did not like wearing them. She advised me that I had to wear them; otherwise, my eyesight would become weaker.

With tearful eyes and an aching heart, I replied, “Okay, Miss.”

As the days passed, I only wore my glasses during classes and removed them afterwards. After two months, I started feeling pressure and fatigue while reading or watching TV, so I told my parents. They took me for a check-up. That was then that I found out my eyesight had weakened.

As time went on, I heard about a doctor who claimed that laser treatment could remove the need for glasses. I was very happy and told my family that I wanted laser treatment so that I wouldn’t have to wear spectacles.

The next day, we went to the clinic. I was hopeful that my glasses would finally be gone. But the doctor explained that a person must be at least 22 years old to undergo the procedure. I begged him to help me, saying that my eyes hurt while wearing glasses, but he said there was no other option.

When I returned home, I stayed worried for many days. My mother understood my anxiety. She comforted me and reminded me that I should be grateful that I can see and to think about those who cannot. Her words helped me accept the situation. They motivated me to move forward.

Months later, my prescription increased to –3.5, but by then I had adjusted and asked for contact lenses. I wore them for some time, but one day, they got scratched by accident. My eyes hurt so badly and I also got an infection. My mother took me for a check-up, where I was given medicine as well as spectacles again.

I felt broken and disappointed.

That day, I sat quietly the whole evening and thought about why I was so sad and why I was turning it into such a big issue. It was nothing more than an aid, something completely normal and common. Then I realised that it is often society that makes people feel different. We start to believe that wearing an aid makes us less than others, but the reality is nothing like that.

So, I decided to ignore that pressure and smiled to myself. From that moment on, I chose to see my spectacles not as a weakness, but as something that simply helps me see the world more clearly.

Published in Dawn, Young World, March 14th, 2026

I am Aisha and I hate maths. It’s like the worst subject in school! I wish it didn’t exist, it’s so complex and hard. I don’t understand why it exists and why it is so important. The truth is, the more I think about this subject, the more I dislike it and the more it affects my mood.

“Aisha, Aisha, wake up. It’s time for school,” Ammi called out.

“What time is it, Ammi?” asked Aisha.

“I don’t know the time. Since this world got rid of the subject and concept maths altogether, you should know that we no longer have such things. I can’t tell you, and you might be late!” said Ammi.

Aisha got up and started getting dressed. She felt relieved to finally be rid of maths. After getting ready, she waited for her van, which arrived after a long wait. She then realised she had actually come out to wait too early.

At school, she felt as though she were living in a dream, with no maths classes to attend at all! But little did she know that having no maths was going to trouble her more than ever.

At lunch, she went to buy food from the canteen. When she asked for two packs of crisps, the canteen owner gave her more than two packs. Aisha tried telling him she had asked for only two packs, but he simply said he didn’t know counting and did not understand what she was talking about.

When it was time to pay, he asked her for more and more money. She told him he should charge her for just two packs, but the canteen owner took all her money and said, “I think this is enough.”

For a moment, she regretted wishing for no maths, but she quickly reminded herself of the peace she had felt earlier.

She got home, changed her clothes and sat down to have lunch. Aisha asked her mum for two chapattis, but her mum said she did not know what “two” meant, so she placed a dozen in front of her. Aisha was irritated by it all.

In the evening, she went to the shop to get some snacks. She asked the shopkeeper for two jellies and two packets of biscuits, but he did not understand her.

He said, “You can take whatever you want, but you have to give me as much money as I want.”

She was taken aback. She asked him to charge her only for the things she was buying, but he replied that since he did not know maths, he could ask for as much money as he liked.

Out of despair, she left the snacks there and went home crying. When she got home, her mum tried to comfort her, but she had absolutely no idea what was going on.

Aisha went to her room, sat on her bed and cried. She prayed to God Almighty to bring maths back. She did not know how long she had been praying before she finally dozed off.

When she woke up, it was time for school. She ran to her mother, hugged her and said, “Mum, I was so wrong. I hated maths. I thought it was ruining our lives with its calculations and mind-boggling sums, so I wished for maths to disappear from the world. I realise now that I was wrong, and I want it back. Mum, what should I do?”

Her mother looked at her and said, “What are you talking about? Where would maths go? I think you are still half asleep. But dear, wake up. It’s 7 am. The bus driver will be here in 15 minutes.”

Aisha looked at her mother in disbelief. She was so happy to realise that it had all been just a dream.

That day, during the maths lesson, she was more interested in learning than anyone else in the class. It was as if she had finally understood how important maths is in life, and how difficult life would be without it.

Published in Dawn, Young World, March 14th, 2026