Happy New Year! It’s a new year with new beginnings!
I became acutely aware that many folks were reflecting on the last decade and making resolutions for 2020. I heard a saying that 2020 was all about having 20/20 vision, which ignited my interest. By not having 20/20 vision myself, how would I accomplish a new vision for 2020?
Naturally, I turned to the medical field to find the definition of 20/20 vision which by surprise, I found that it is not the best vision an individual can have. The American Academy of Ophthalmology defines 20/20 vision as a person who can see an eye chart while standing 20 feet away. An eye chart measures, “visual acuity, which is the clarity or sharpness of vision.” The top first number is the distance (i.e. feet) away from the chart a person can stand, whereas, the bottom number indicates the “distance at which a person with normal eyesight can read the same line.” For example, 20/30 vision is worse than 20/20, and 20/15 is better than 20/20. Imagine that!
I decided to share my new findings with my family members while home over the break. This is where I spiraled as an academic with a comic book obsession. My nephew and I share the same obsession. When he was younger, he would ask me, “Tia, if you had one superpower, only one, what would it be!?” I proceeded to remind my nephew of this question and that day I would pick vision to answer the question. We laughed. At times, I cannot believe my childhood is over.
I have had corrective lenses since I was in the 7th grade. I always imagined that having 20/20 vision was comparable to having a superpower, like Cyclops of X-men who generates powerful red beams of color from his eyes. However, it was a blessing and curse for Cyclops as he struggles with how to best use and control his superpowers in the X-men comic books.
I argue, we can learn a lot from comic books in academia. The three attributes I most love about comic books are character development, origin stories, and alternative modes of reality to embrace an array of emotions. All these attributes I plan to carry with me in 2020 and the next decade as I pursue research, teaching, and service in academia.
How we hold ourselves in academia contributes to our own character development as scholar-practitioners and the legacy we wish to leave. As we progress in our careers we will work with students in many capacities and hopefully cultivate their aspirations and goals so that they too develop in character.
