Heterochromia is a disorder that causes the eyes to be different colors. My heterochromia causes one eye to be blue, and one eye to be green. My eyes have been this way as long as I remember, which means I have dealt with people asking me the same questions about it my whole life. If you also have heterochromia, here are seven things you can probably relate to.
1. The public announcement
The first thing anyone does when they realize my eyes are two different colors is make a public service announcement letting everyone around them know. This leads to being crowded by a bunch of strangers making direct eye contact with me for extended periods of time, which never fails to make me feel uncomfortable.
I'm flattered you want to tell everyone about my eye color, but I would rather not feel like an animal in a zoo.
2. Being compared to celebrities and pets
If you have heterochromia, you are probably used to being compared to celebrities with different colored eyes. As a Michigan native, I always get compared to former Detroit Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer. It is not uncommon to be compared to people's dogs and cats too. Honestly, as long as I get to see cute pictures of peoples pets, I guess being compared to them isn't so bad.
3. Driver's license
One of the top questions people ask me is what my eye color says on my driver's license. The answer is a lot more simple than you might think: multiple. I could have chosen to put blue or green, but why choose just one when I can have both?
A lot of people with heterochromia put only one color on their license, mostly because it isn't common knowledge that "multiple" is a choice. In reality, it isn't that important what our driver's license says because our eyes will be different colors regardless.
4. "Are you wearing contacts?"
No, I am not wearing colored contacts. The amount of effort and money that would go into buying one set of blue contacts and one set of green contacts and wearing them every single day is definitely not worth it.
Contacts cost at least $300 per year. Do you know how much Taco Bell you could buy with that money? I definitely wouldn't be wasting it on pretending I have different colored eyes.
5. "You're a mutant"
Technically, yes I am a mutant. That doesn't mean you have to remind me all the time though. If I had a dollar for every time someone called me a mutant after realizing I have heterochromia, I might have enough money to buy those colored contacts.
6. Sometimes, people don't even notice
A lot of people notice heterochromia the first time they meet you. But other times, you might be friends with someone for months, or even years, before they realize it. The difference in eye color varies depending on the lighting, which is probably why some people don't notice it for a while.
Nevertheless, I still find myself shocked when a close friend stops mid-conversation and says "wait - are your eyes different colors?".
7. The struggle of eyeshadow
If you are a makeup wearer with heterochromia, eyeshadow can be a bit of struggle. I remember flipping through magazines in middle school and reading about what eyeshadow look best suits you based on your eye color. As someone with heterochromia, this left me with two options: choose the eye color I like best and go with that, or do two completely different eyeshadow looks on each eye.
At the time, I just accepted that eyeshadow wasn't for me. Time has passed and I wear eye makeup frequently now, but I still notice that one eye always stands out more than the other no matter which eyeshadow look I choose.
All in all, I can't complain about heterochromia. Sure, you get weird looks sometimes and you might be the center of attention in some awkward situations, but not a lot of people can say they have two different color eyes. So yes, I am a mutant, and I am perfectly fine with that.
