I Can Finally Take a Break From Wearing Contact Lenses

Last Updated on May 30, 2021

Back in 2011, I bought my first set of contact lenses and upgraded from Nike glasses to a new pair of RayBans. For whatever reason, I allowed my family to talk me into buying a pair of glasses I didn’t totally love. Maybe it was the RayBan brand name that persuaded me. Maybe young-me simply couldn’t be bothered with finding nicer frames. Whatever the reason, all I know is I went home that evening with glasses that I thought were just OK.

I wore my RayBans that night and got a pretty bad headache from my new prescription; it felt way too strong for my eyes. I definitely felt my optometrist had rushed my eye exam. I was convinced he misjudged the results and gave me a prescription too strong for my eyes. My contacts, however, felt just right.

Don’t ask me why but I never went back to correct my glasses. Instead, I chose to deal with them and redirected my attention to practicing putting on contacts. I have worn contact lenses every single day since then. For the last four years or more, I’ve followed the same routine each morning: wake up, get dressed, put on contacts, and so on. It was never any trouble. My contacts are comfortable. Invisible. Effective.

Why wear my over-powered ugly glasses when I could avoid them altogether?

Since I never wore my new RayBans, I ended up lending them to a significant other from my past who shared the same prescription as me. When we stopped talking about a year ago, we cut all ties and I never saw my glasses again. Now I really didn’t have a choice in the matter.

“Contacts it is,” I told myself.

Almost one year later, here I am. Still without glasses and finally starting to wish I had them. I wanted to give my eyes a break and decided to transfer the strain from there to my wallet instead. I began shopping for new designer glasses: my quest for frames I could look forward to wearing.

At a nearby retailer, I found Versace frames that I thought fit my face pretty well. Prior to the shopping spree, I was convinced there were no eyeglasses out there that suited my face. I had conditioned myself from years of not liking my glasses to believe frames never looked good on me. Plus, it helped me cope with the fact that I didn’t even have glasses for some time.

Unlike my past frames, my new glasses are much bigger. I didn’t get the standard rectangular style that I’ve had in the past. Instead, I opted for more of a soft wayfarer style. I liked these particular frames because they’re two-toned. The top is solid black and the bottom is wooden brown. I wanted at least some brown on them to match my hair color. The sides are branded with the Versace pattern in silver. I like everything about them.

I opted for ordinary lenses at first but went back the next day to upgrade to the anti-reflective lenses. I didn’t want to spend the extra cash upfront but after realizing how happy I was with them, I decided I’d upgrade so I’d have no excuse not to wear them.

Wearing glasses is interesting. They directly impact the way you perceive the world. Everyday life feels like some TV show being watched through big frames. I think the science behind the light and optics of prescription glasses is incredible. Your vision is changed so dramatically by a small piece of bent glass. And in terms of psychology, I’m pretty sure people perceive people with glasses differently. I’m curious to see if I notice any differences in my interactions with people when I have my glasses on.