Reflective Essay: Physical And Figurative Lens

The first time I wore glasses to school, a classmate asked “When did you get glasses, Libby?” It still stuns me that he asked for the obvious answer, because that was the only physical change from the day prior. I have, however, dealt with physical and figurative lenses my whole life. My experiences, particularly as an identical twin, give me multiple lenses of the world.
Devising a quick mnemonic about our character traits is a common occurrence to aid new acquaintances in distinguishing between Becky and me. Providing our friends with a mnemonic offers them a lens through which they can learn our quirks and personalities. As toddlers, we were color coded with “Becky Blue” and “Libby Lellow” [sic], a color I would love to find in a crayon box one day. In third grade, we changed to “Libby Lenses” based on my new glasses. In high school sports, we changed to
I realized that perspective is more than a way to consider my sister or team. Choosing a historical topic to research and analyze within the constraints of the annual theme taught me how to apply a lens to history. Six years ago, Becky, our friend Sara, and I began noticing “Turning Points”, the theme of the year, in classes and other activities after spending months analyzing potential topics. Sitting in class, we would hear about the role of a battle as a turning point in the war, glance over at each other, and share a knowing smile. Following many years of adding new themes to our repertoire, we also learned to use the lens of a judge to shape our research into a stellar exhibit. Focusing on refining each area of our exhibit as though from a judge’s perspective helped us improve our placement every year. Given our first place finish in seventh grade at the regional level, we were elated to place third in the national competition last year. We developed new perspectives on history as well as tools for the future with each new lens and area of