She was going to stop when she gained admission into the university but it just didn’t feel right to her. ” It became something her friends used to taunt her, and throughout her days in secondary school, she felt the need to cover her eyes whenever she wanted to go out. She was in a column on the assembly ground, whispering a thing to a friend behind her when a teacher – trying to caution her – called out to her, “Omo oloju nla yen (the girl with big eyes). It started when she was in junior secondary school. I listened on because it felt as if something was exhuming the anger inside of her. Not the colour of my skin, not my attire, but my big round eyes,” she said. I think the first thing people see when they see me is my eyes. “I can’t go out without it because it feels like it draws attention to me. I understood her better after her explanation. I used to think it was the sun but there was a day we wanted to head out in the evening and she still ran back inside to get the glasses.

We’ve been friends for quite a long time and I never really asked why she couldn’t go out without the shades. This has become natural for her, and going out without her dark shades feels like walking on the street in a gown that is being blown by a strong gust of wind, exposing her nakedness. My friend wouldn’t go out without her dark shades on because she always tries to hide her big eyes.

Childhood experiences shape who we are