Growing up I had good vision and was able to go about my life without missing anything with my eyes. This all changed when I got to third grade and I started to notice that things became blurry and almost illegible at a distance. The young me thought nothing of it at first, it was not until I started bringing it up to my mom that I realized that something was wrong and that I needed to go get my eyes checked out.
I was told that it was not that bad, my prescription lenes were relatively weak. I thought that wearing my glasses meant that they would just remain as they were or get better, seeing without them was still good. I was wrong however, every year my eyes were getting worse and worse until finally, two years in row I have now had the same prescription. This has alleviated some of the worry I have when it comes to my eyes. However, I am left with eyes that cannot read anything past 8 inches from my face and of a decent font size. My glasses have become a part of me, if I am awake and conscious, they are on my face with the only exception being when I shower. Talking to my friends, most of those who don’t have glasses do not understand what I mean when I say I cannot clearly see basically anything. They assume that my vision is nowhere near as bad, that I can see enough to be able to go through daily life with no issues. That, however, is just not true, especially when sitting in a massive lecture hall for a class and even the closest seat is still a good 10 feet away. Without my glasses I would not be able to learn or just function in a school setting unless it is primarily online. Society considers those with vision problems disabled, and without my glasses, that includes me.
Unruly Bodies 
Hi, I can see how growing up with glasses can be difficult. Although a lot of people wear glasses to the point where, at least I, look at a person and see a person and not someone wearing glasses, it doesn’t mean to diminish their struggles. A lot of people joke or taunt others who wear glasses but don’t consider how it is still a disability and is hard for others to experience daily. It’s interesting how society often forgets that people with disabilities can include glasses wearers and because they are still cognitively capable to succeed, they are still seen as functioning members of society to the point where there is the notion that people who wear glasses are smarter or are seen as smarter. It still makes no sense how people have to pay to see but they know people must buy unfortunately.
Hi, thank you for your insight –
I too have had the struggle of having poor vision. From a young age I had to adapt to these plastic things on my face, until eventually I had to learn how to wear contact lenses just because how annoying the glasses would be for me. However I would end up sleeping with me lenses even though it’s not a good idea to do so, it just sucks waking up in the morning and seeing nothing but blur. Don’t get me started on driving, I lost a contact once while I was driving and it was a whole mess! Thanks again for sharing your story.
Hey, having had to wear glasses since elementary school and dreading each day with them on it was a nightmare. I was told at first they were just for school but as i grew just like you my eyesight got worse and worse until they were a permanent fixture to my face. Dealing with that in middle school with everything else happening I thought I had the equivalent to two jumbo screen tv’s attached to me at all times took a real hit to my confidence. Though as I got older i’ve grown to like them more I can’t think of being seen without them not only for seeing but they’ve assimilated into my own personal fashion. That all being said great read thanks for sharing.
This is not nearly as serious as any of the other comments, but do you ever see a picture of yourself without your glasses and you’re just like “ewww who is that” because you know how you look without glasses, but like only the blurry you from the mirror and not like, the actual you? I like, can’t even think about myself without them, and if I am not wearing my glasses my body just thinks it must be bedtime.
I can relate to your post because I am near-sighted and both of my eyes have astigmatism, which make everything I see blurry. I can barely read what the teacher has written on the whiteboard even tho that’s like 8ft away. I had normal glasses from 5th grade to 9th grade, then my mom got me night contacts which I can put them on before I sleep, and I can see for the next day. But I kept on forgetting to put them on before I sleep, So I have been dealing with not able to see the board and that sucks.
I also have really bad vision. There’s almost never a time when I don’t either have my glasses on or contacts in. I can’t even move around in my own room without my glasses. I didn’t get contacts until a couple years ago and it was almost life changing. You don’t realize how much of a disadvantage is it to constantly wear glasses until you get contacts. I can go to the pool and still be able to see. I can wear masks without my glasses fogging up. I can go to the gym without my glasses falling off my face when I start to sweat. Having bad vision is a burden that we don’t often acknowledge.
I feel for you author! I too, began wearing glasses in elementary school when I had difficulties reading the projector from the back of the room. However, I rejected being “four-eyes” for the majority of my academic and personal life. I would downright refuse to wear my glasses because they didn’t fit within my aesthetic. I felt so uncomfortable wearing my glasses with no explanation why. Slowly, I become more accustomed to wearing them because I had no choice, I had to see to (somewhat) succeed in school, but I ripped them off my face the second class ended. As I’ve matured, I’ve steadily accepted that my glasses are a part of my identity. I don’t mind them as much and are so grateful for them because without these glorious pieces of technology I would probably be dead by now.
I am in my mid/late 30’s but I have been wearing glasses since age nine. When I began noticing I couldn’t see the board in class, my teacher contacted my mother and I soon got my eyes checked. Its was exciting for me because I was one of those shy peculiar kids that wanted eyeglasses before I realized I actually did need them. Turns out I was near sided. During my adolescent years I was usually the only eyeglasses wearer in my class or one of the only few. Yet I never was ashamed or embarrassed to wear them. I did get called “four eyes” at least once, it was the 90’s. But I didn’t care. I was never self conscious about wearing my glasses. In fact I was always excited when it was time for me to receive a new pair. I always made sure the glasses I got were pretty to me in shape, color and all. I did go through a ten year stint from age 15 to 25 with switching my glasses with clear contacts to which I did enjoy at first, it was a new world. But unfortunately the contacts got old and irritating quite fast. So when I aged out of my mother’s insurance coverage, I switched back over to eyeglasses, and soon after doing that I found out I had a autoimmune disease related to Lupus thats spelled Sjorgren’s Syndrome pronounced SHOW- GRINS.
It attacks a lot of different areas in my body causing heavy fatigue, joint pain, can attack organs such as heart, kidneys, and lungs, but the main cause it does is cause extreme dry eyes. So no wonder why wearing contacts greatly irritated my eyes. I cannot wear contacts at all due to my illness do I’m now a full time glasses wearer. My vision has unfortunately changed and worsened over the years. In my childhood, teens and twenties I only had trouble seeing from a distance, but since turning 30 a few years ago, I have issues seeing both far away and upclose. November I will recieve my new prescription thankfully.
Last thing I will say to my fellow glasses wearers is I’m sorry to those who feel embarrassed or are mistreated for wearing glassses, I know that makes this situation even more difficult than it has to be but hang in there you’ll realize its going to be just fine.
When buying a new or first pair of glasses make sure its a shape and color that you absolutely adore on you. The more you like the look of your glassses, the more you’ll actually enjoy wearing them, wear them every single day until you get use to them and you see the change in your vision while wearing them. And ignore what dumb people say about them.
Also please make sure to take good care of your glasses, make sure they fit properly so they are not too loose sliding off your face and onto the floor, and buy a good hard shell glasses case, and lens wipes too. My favorite lens wipes are the Zeiss lens wipes they come in 50 or a 100 count “you can purchase them at Walmart” Use defogger lens wipes in the colder months they cut down on the lens fogging tremendously. Never fall asleep in your glasses, always take them off and put them in your hardshell case before sleeping. And its better to buy hard plastic frames because they are less likely to break easily. Get them retightened when needed because your face does naturally stretch your glasses over time.
Take extreme good care of your eyeglasses. The better you take care of your glasses, the longer you can keep them without having to buy a new pair. Contrary to what you may believe you don’t actually have to buy a new pair of glasses if your prescription changes. You can get your new prescription lenses in your current glasses if they are still in good shape, fit your face well, or you can still get them readjusted. Well I have said a lot and I’m tired of typing. Best wishes to everyone out there!!