Photo Sensitivity

I think it is called photosensitivity when you are sensitive to light. Today I experienced a real-life play on this word. As you know, I am a music teacher at Challenger School. Well, my students' performances have been going on this week, and they've been going very well. My last program today was a really talented 2nd grade class. They've been working really hard, and they were really prepared. I thought I was prepared for everything, too.

But what I did not anticipate (in all the programs I've played for, it has never happened) was that a parent taking flash photography would be standing in the exactly perfect spot for his/her flash to reflect off the plastic page protectors I use to house my music. Every 5 to 10 seconds, I was blinded by a flash of light which would momentarily blur my vision and make my music impossible to see. Thankfully, I've played the songs a million times, and this proved to be more annoying than troublesome.

But after each flash, my vision seemed starry for a few seconds longer than the last, and I was getting an increasingly strong headache. Between songs, I would look around to see if I could spot the offending camera; unfortunately, Parent X was reserving their camera shots for songs and dances only. I was starting to feel physically ill from being assaulted with this bright light every time I tried to play. Finally, desperate, I reached into my purse and grabbed my sunglasses. I played the remainder of the program in shades.

Although the glasses didn't make it any easier for me to read my music (it was now too dark most of the time with occasional bursts of glowing flame), but it did at least stop the growth of my headache. I still have four programs to go; I hope fate does not conspire against me to create this terrible phenomenon again. I may seek out the parent and strangle him.