When I walked outside a few hours after my 2009 LASIK surgery and managed to peer out of the tiny holes in the goggles taped to my face, I got the sense of suddenly seeing the world in high definition. Looking up at a tree, even through gritty eyes that were still in pain and sensitive, I saw every little leaf. I saw the crags in the branches and every crisp shadow between the greenery. I had to pause and take in the realization that there were things about trees I’d never fully experienced through sight, until then. Now, over ten years later, the novelty wore off to a large extent, but I still often stop to look at the leaves of trees I see outside and remember that moment.