In the second grade during a vision and hearing test, I found out that my eyesight was terrible. My parents got me a pair of glasses, which I wore every day up until fifth grade before switching to contacts. I was happy to be able to see, but having to wear glasses was cumbersome. When it rained, I’d constantly be wiping the lenses of my glasses. When I played basketball, I didn’t even bother wearing them because I’d rather be blind than risk getting hit in the face with glasses on.

Glasses can also be obnoxious to wear when you’re eating or drinking something hot, like soup or tea; they get fogged up and you can’t see anything. Another disadvantage of wearing glasses is that when you begin to sweat, your glasses slowly slide off your face, so you’re constantly pushing them back up the bridge of your nose.

The only good thing about wearing glasses other than being able to have sufficient vision was the way they changed the perception of my appearance. Glasses were nice to wear because people automatically thought of you as being nerdy or smart, which I always thought was a good thing. It was nice that I came off as being intelligent just because I was wearing glasses.

Also, getting a new pair of glasses was a chance to alter my appearance. I could choose from several different frame colors depending on how I wanted to look. I once chose a maroon frame because I thought they made my hair color look better. Glasses served as an accessory to my identity.

However, after many years of dealing with wearing glasses, I finally switched to contacts. When I first got contact lenses in elementary school, I was so excited that I didn’t have to wear glasses every day. I got them mainly so I would be able to see during my basketball games, but there were so many more benefits for me. With contacts, I wouldn’t have to worry about getting hit in the face with a tetherball or a soccer ball at recess. With contacts, I wouldn’t have to struggle to wear the 3D glasses over my prescription glasses at the movies. I could put a sweatshirt over my head without having to worry about taking my glasses off beforehand. Contacts were an awesome new addition to my life.

Wearing contacts every day became my first choice, and after a while of wearing them, I realized how much better they were than glasses. But, with the benefits came the drawbacks.

After a long day, I’d go get ready for bed and take out my contacts, one of the most difficult tasks of my bedtime routine. After wearing contacts from the early morning to late at night, they would often be stuck to my eyeballs. I’d physically have to peel them off of my eyes because they were so dry. Taking naps while wearing contacts would result in the same feeling.

Another thing that is hard about having to wear contacts is that when you take them out of your eyes, you don’t want to put them back in. For example, when I take them out at night and then my friends want to hang out, I cringe thinking about putting them back in. By that time in the night, my eyes feel more relaxed and comfortable with glasses. But like I mentioned earlier, wearing glasses surely has its disadvantages. And when you want to go out with your friends, showing up with glasses on to a party isn’t the coolest thing to do.

Overall, glasses or contacts, I’m thankful to have access to see an optometrist and fix my vision. To this day, wearing contacts is my go-to just because I’ve gotten used to putting them in every day. There is the option of getting laser eye surgery to permanently fix your vision, but that requires a lot of thought. Right now for me, struggling with glasses and contacts is a great reminder of how lucky I am to afford and receive care for my eyes.