My vision is very important to me. As a visual artist, it is important for me to be able to see what I create, whether it is a drawing, digital art, painting, or sculpture. I also have had glasses since I was in kindergarten. Growing up, I always thought I got the short end of the stick because I was one of the few people in my class that needed glasses. Now that I am in college, I know that is not the case because everyone in my main circle of 6 friends wears glasses. (Granted one of my friends doesn’t need them to see, but I am going to pretend that they do for this article.) I will be mentioning my friends, but I will be using fake names.
Growing up, I was always self conscious about my glasses. I thought that they made me stand out to others and made me a target for harassment. One guy in my class would say “hello four eyes” to me as a joke, even though it was hurtful to me. Now in college, I am no longer as self conscious about them, because a lot of the people around me need glasses.
Glasses can be used to correct a multitude of sight issues. In the case of one of my friends, Rebecca, she cannot see without her glasses at all. She wears her glasses because they correct her vision completely. For my friend Theresa, she has astigmatism, which is an “imperfection in the curvature of the eye that causes blurred distance and near vision. [It] occurs when either the front surface of the eye (cornea) or the lens inside the eye has mismatched curves.” I also have astigmatism, which is why I need glasses. Like Theresa, we both have astigmatism in both our eyes, but for me, my vision is way worse in my left eye than my right. I do not know why my other friends need their glasses, but glasses can help many different vision problems.
Sometimes, wearing glasses can make the others around you treat you differently. I’m going to give my opinion on some common ways people treat those with glasses and whether or not this is a good idea. Spoiler alert: the majority of what I cover are the don’ts of treating someone with glasses.
“Can I borrow your glasses? Wow you really can’t see.”: I know a lot of people, mostly in high school, would borrow my glasses and try them on. It never bothered me that they borrowed them, but when their response to trying them on was “wow you really can’t see,” I was a little bothered by that. Yes, I can’t see––that’s why I wear glasses in the first place. If you borrow someone’s glasses, don’t tell them they can’t see––they already know that.
“How many fingers am I holding up?”: This is another don’t. If they have their glasses off, asking them how many fingers you are holding up is silly. We can still see the number of fingers you have up, it is just that the edges of your fingers are blurry, not distorted.
“I always thought nerdy girls were kinda hot.”: My friend Theresa, told me that this has been said to her before. One common misconception about glasses is that because you wear glasses, you are a nerd. I know plenty of nerds that don’t wear glassesーmy brother for exampleーas well as people who wear glasses that are not nerds. Just because I wear glasses does not mean I am a nerd. My love of video games and anime makes me a nerd. My friend Theresa is not a nerd because of her glasses. She is a nerd because she loves Marvel so much.
“Wow you look smart.”: Ah yes the common “you wear glasses, you must be smart” thought process. I wear glasses, and I am one of the dumbest people I know. I forget things easily, and I say stupid stuff sometimes too. My words don’t come out properly sometimes, which is where I get the joke phrase “four meal happy nugget” when I was trying to ask someone at the drive-thru if they had the “four nugget Happy Meal.” Another quote from Theresa “just because I wear glasses, doesn’t mean I know how to read.”
Replacing glasses: Glasses are expensive. And the fun thing about something you need to wear daily is they also wear out a lot faster. It is like using a wooden pencil daily. You need to sharpen the pencil, and eventually, it is too small to use. The same is similar with glasses. The bows of the glasses start to become loose, sometimes the frames chip, and the lenses get very scratched. I personally need a new pair of glasses––the pair I currently have are chipped and scratched badly. But a good pair of glasses can cost over $300. My current glasses cost roughly $350. And sometimes, insurance won’t cover the price of glasses, and so that is $350 out of pocket that I have to pay just to be able to see.
Misplacing glasses: As I said previously, I am stupid. I misplace things all the time, and unfortunately, my glasses can become something I misplace. One time my freshman year of high school, I was in Woods class, I put my glasses in my locker. Or at least, what I thought was my locker. It turns out, I had actually put them in the locker beneath mine, so when I went to look for them, they weren’t there. So instead of looking for them, I ended up leaving class without them, and then I didn’t have my glasses the next day. Instead, I had to wear an old pair until I could get my actual glasses. Luckily, I haven’t really misplaced them since.
Needing two pairs––sunglasses and regular glasses: My friend Theresa suggests getting a prescription pair of sunglasses for when you are driving your car or just out in the sun often. I personally do not have a pair of prescription sunglasses because my right eye doesn’t need much correction; it is my dominant eye, so I can see fairly well without my glasses on. But when I wear my glasses and sunglasses, it is a hassle to have to find a pair of sunglasses that will fit over my glasses, since I wear blockier style lenses that fit my face shape best.
Glasses can be a hassle, but when you have had them for as long as I have, the hassle is less stressful than when I was 5. I have learned to see through the dirt and fingerprints on my lenses, because there is no secret to keeping them clean, unfortunately. However, I do try to wash them weekly. So wash your glasses and for those who wear them, be proud that you can still see, despite the hassle of wearing them.