ANNA SANNIKOVA

heterochromia

Words “I have heterochromia” usually sound scary, as if I need some medical treatment.

But in fact, this is simply a genetic trait that causes people (and animals) to have eyes of different color. As I learned recently, there’s only one percent of people on planet Earth that have heterochromia.

As a rule, people don’t notice this feature right away. Perhaps it’s because, as a child, I developed a habit of looking away. I was extremely insecure until I was 15, because kids take people’s reactions close to heart, especially strange looks, whispers and mocking. I remember riding on the bus, when two girls sitting next to me discussed my eyes as if it was something weird, and argued about me wearing lenses, thinking I couldn’t hear. I thought I would sink through the floor. It is extremely embarrassing to be the subject of such gossip. As a child, no one wants to be the “black sheep”.

Surprisingly enough, being different has turned into a trend these days. But back then it took a lot of effort from my relatives to convince me that, in fact, I was very beautiful.

Today, when people notice my eye color, they come closer and start staring, asking questions like “Are your eyes different?”, “Have you lost your lens?”, “Do you see things differently too?”, etc. and I’m okay with such questions. Sometimes I am called a witch, and it’s even funny. I usually make a joke that I couldn’t decide on my eye color, so I got different eyes, one form my dad and the other from my mum.