MY PERSONAL JOURNEY

By Camden Niknam
Founder

Growing up with a disease that you can’t understand, no matter what disease it is, is a difficult fate to be bestowed with. You, as a child, know conventionally that something is “wrong” with you, yet you don’t know what. Perhaps you are provided a simplistic explanation on the disease? However, that doesn’t remedy the resting unease that has taken hold in your heart.

I was diagnosed with Myopia at a very young age, and never fully understood what the illness truly entailed. It simply boiled down to, “Wear glasses, Camden. And eat your carrots!”, with no further explanation. A simple order told with a nice-sounding lie to make me get in line, to believe what was presented in front of me. I understand now that it wasn’t out of malicious intent, and that doctors simply assumed I could not comprehend the full scope of what myopia truly was. Yet, I still felt cheated when I discovered what the illness truly meant for my eye health later on in life.

However, not understanding my illness was only half of what was in store for me during my childhood. I naturally faced alienation from my peers, due to how “funny-looking” my thick-lenses were. It was never direct, unprompted comments. Moreover, they were sprinkled in during conversations, always making me feel a twinge of hurt whenever they were stated. I’d make someone upset, and suddenly, the conversation became about Camden's “funny glasses”. The conversation became about how Camden was “stupid” without them. The conversation became about making me feel the most hurt possible, all for something I couldn’t control. All for something that I was born with.

As I began sharing this idea, my parents helped me realize that the problem extended beyond children. Many parents and adults also lacked access to clear, reliable information about myopia and the long-term risks it can pose if left unmanaged. Families were often forced to piece together information from countless sources, making an already overwhelming diagnosis even more confusing.

That realization inspired me to create ClarityReach, a completely free nonprofit dedicated to making myopia education accessible to everyone. ClarityReach serves as a centralized resource where children, parents, and anyone seeking to learn more about myopia can find trustworthy, easy-to-understand information all in one place.

As I got older, cases where children got bullied for wearing glasses decreased. Alienation became less of a norm, and most kids didn’t struggle with bullying regarding their glasses. However the bullying I faced as a child, coupled with the misunderstanding (eventually remedied in my teenage years) I carried always stuck with me. I wanted to find a way to do something, to help the curious kids who were like me, who never understood why they had to wear glasses. To give them clarity, to make them finally get the “why” behind their disease. I wanted to make sure that other children wouldn't have to grow up with that same uncertainty. I wanted them to understand why they wore glasses, what myopia actually was, and what it meant for their future. Knowledge brings clarity, and clarity brings confidence.