Dear Pretty-Eyed People,

I'm jealous. Very jealous.

I was born with dark, dark brown eyes. If you stare into them it may seem like you are staring into Voldemort's despairing soul. So, when I see pretty eyes that are a warm and inviting hazel or a captivating mix of blues and greens, I get sad. I wallow in self-pity and accept the tragic fact that I was simply born this way. I wasn't born being one of the pretty-eyed people of this world. I was born being the girl with insignificant, close-to-black-colored eyes of doom.

Ever since I was little I dreamed of having pretty eyes. I would stare into the eyes of my grade school classmates and wish that I had a set of eyes that people would consider to be "pretty" or "gorgeous." I would beg my father for colored contacts that would make my eyes a pretty shade of a light color. I wanted that pretty swirl of hazel enveloped in a pool of green. I wanted that color of sweet honey that glistens when light reflects off of it. I want that light shade of gray or that crystal blue. I want a unique eye color that captures someone's attention.

The children's stories that you would read when you were a kid would tell stories of two people experiencing love at first sight. They would lock eyes, gaze into each other's corneas, and fall in love. I convinced myself that the first thing that a boy would look for in a girl is their eyes. What I did not realize was that a person's eyes tell so much more about them than you would think.

A person's eye color may not be a unique blend of pretty hues, but it does not change a person's gaze. It's not about the color of the eyes that stare at you from across the room, but about the way they look at you. This helped me understand that although I don't have pretty eyes, it's not the end of the world. My eyes can still give someone a sweet and comforting gaze.

So for all of you blue, green, hazel, gray, and all other beautiful colored-eyed people, congratulations. You were blessed with two compelling heart-throbbers so embrace them. But don't worry about me, I've accepted my dark eyes. Even though my eyes won't change in color, I can simply keep staring into yours!