As I had incredibly bad eye sight for someone rather young, in second grade I was the second person in my grade to get glasses. But, as someone who also loved to play sports, I learned that sports+glasses=disaster (my current theory is that because the glasses are farther away from your face than your eyes, the result is skewed depth-perception). After going through three pairs of glasses each sports season (totaling nine smashed glasses each academic school year, thank goodness for warranties and free repairs), I started wearing contacts when I was around 12 or 13-years-old.
As a result, I know both the great joys and struggles of having contacts that I know all of you feel, as I am convinced that someone having 20/20 vision is a complete myth (and if you say that you have 20/20 vision and never needed braces, I don't believe you).
I present to you... relatable contact struggles.
1. Getting confused about which way the contact should go.
You put a contact in your eye, and it feels like said contact is made out of medieval knives. You take it out, turn it inside out, put it back in your eye and it's worse. I know that there is a tiny difference in the way it looks if you contact is inside out but how am I supposed to see that subtle difference without my contacts in I have bad vision this is why I need contacts ahhhhh.
2. Sleeping in your contacts is the forbidden fruit of the optometrist world.
And I really never do. Because if you do you'll wake up and it'll feel like concrete is in your eyes. Or you'll have a moment and forget that you did not take out your contacts and think that you've become Spider-Man and that your vision is now naturally perfect. But like I said, I never ever sleep in my contacts.
3. Waking up early is painful... literally.
If you didn't get enough sleep, and especially if it's early and your eyes are tired, your contacts will reject your eyes. Just because they do not want to do anything. And if you're like me, and have to use that contact solution that takes six hours at least to clean... you know the perils of encroaching on that six hours...
4. People forget that you have horrible vision.
"YOU WEAR GLASSES!?" Is a question you get asked every time you wear them because it is an event generally few and far between outside the walls of your own home. And yes, you do wear glasses. Yes, you do normally wear contacts. Yes, if you take them off of me and hold up two fingers I will be able to tell you how many fingers you are holding up because that's not how having glasses works.
5. You always run out of contacts before the year is up.
That last pair of contacts is precious, because you can drag those monthly contacts out for two until your next eye appointment no problem, but if you lose one... you have to go and buy a whole six months of your old prescription because you can't buy individual contacts.
6. You run out of one eye's prescription way before the other eye.
This is a mystery to me.
7. Looking like you are crying when you are NOT crying.
Closing your eyes to refresh dry contacts, or getting a speck of dirt under a contact results in your eyes watering and your nose getting all red... and in people asking if you are okay and what is wrong.
Nothing is wrong. Just a tiny piece of dust got in my eye and now I look like I'm having an emotional breakdown. Nothing to see here.
