Right now I am sitting at my desk at work, tears and mascara are streaming from my right eye and I can barely read what I am typing. My contact lens has scratched my eye and blinking hurts, looking anywhere but straight hurts and the constant rubbing and dabbing at tears has created a raw red right eye next to my well groomed left one.

I truly can’t stand wearing my glasses, I’ve talked about my dislike for the blasted things on this blog before, but its days like this when I feel like I might give up the contacts in favour of the frames due to the sheer agony of just being able to see (sort of, everything is a bit blurry at the moment).

My dodgy eyesight was diagnosed when I was about 15. My first glasses were just for reading the blackboard and I carted the glasses case around with me all day, while they were still a novelty, and wore them often. They were Mambo and I thought they were very cool. Silver frames, straight back arms instead of the traditional curved over the ears and best of all, I could read the board! And then a friend told me how I looked like the female version of a guy in our class who had similar glasses and all of a sudden, I didn’t want to wear them at all anymore. (Note: this was right after I had blonde foils put in my hair for the first time and she told me she thought they looked grey. We are totally besties now though.)

 My eyesight continued to fail me but I refused to wear the glasses, until there came a time when I got my learners permit and the thought of causing some kind of horrible accident just because I thought I looked like a boy seemed rather silly. My dependency on artificial eyesight began. The more I wore the glasses, the more I needed them. Soon I was wearing them to watch TV, at the footy, school, driving, just being able to see my family across the dinner table. 

 Then a miracle occurred. Contact lenses. At just 16, I procured my first set, a vivid memory of being taught by the optometrist assistant as to how to use them the ‘right’ way. She violently cut all the nails on my right hand, showed me the most awkward manner to hold your left arm above your head to lift your eyelid while inserting the lens with the right hand, pointer finger and emphasised the ‘rules’ of contact lens wear. Did you know that contact lenses have an ‘inside out’?

In the past ten years, contact lenses have been my favourite fashion accessory. When I get up in the morning, can’t read the alarm clock and reach for my frames, I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror – all bedhair and thick black frames – and can’t help but think that glasses just don’t suit me. This is contrary to all the people who tell me how much they think I look fab in glasses, although considering they only come out once or twice a year I am sure it’s more a novelty than anything else.

Over the years, I have gone through lots of frames – plastic burgundy ones and slimline black ones to today’s thick black ‘creative-esque’ type ones. I’m still yet to find a pair that I would be happy to wear every day, so until that day comes, I’ll continue with the contacts, painful or otherwise, simply because I just can’t do glasses all the time.  Or maybe one day I’ll be able to afford laser surgery. In the meantime though, I might just have to get used to things looking a little blurry.

Image One: Albert Maysles by Barton Perreirra Reader Glasses – 1.5 Sail Red $350.00 at Barneys New York
Image Two: INITIUM – Black plastic and metal optical-lens glasses $234.00 by Initium Eyewear at farfetch.com
Image Three:Clear Round Glasses $30.00 at Topshop