When I came back from Uganda my eye started burning really badly, and it was blurring my vision and I had to go to the eye doctor because I had torn my cornea and had to use prescription drops to heal it. My eye doctor told me that it would heal, but that there would be a scar. I had this sudden realization that if I wanted to continue doing social work, especially in third-world countries that I could potentially damage my eye or even go blind due to infection from my contacts. That really scared me, and so I looked into LASIK and heard about the contest and entered. It was such an amazing gift, because I realized that if I wanted to pursue my dream, I could end up having some major problems with my vision. Not having to worry about contacts or glasses has given me the freedom to go after any opportunity that is presented to me, so it’s given me freedom.