Sunday 10 August 2014

Goggles.

I have glasses and I hate them. I got my first pair of specs or "goggles" as I call them when I was in grade 6. For seven years I have struggled with my need for vision and my hatred for glasses. 
Lots of people ask, "why do you hate glasses?" and the plain and simple the truth is that I'm lazy. I hate carrying them around in my bag and I hate cleaning them and having to put them on.

When my eye sight started getting a little fuzzy around the edges all those years ago, I was provided with these absolutely horrendous blue wiry frames with lenses that enabled me to read properly. Now, I was a pretty athletic kid when I got them (what the hell happened there!?) and I despised wearing them... eventually mum got tired of battering me about them until I started getting some pretty intense headaches whenever I was't wearing them whilst reading. 

When we first moved to Mackay I again, was fitted for a new pair of frames and prescription lenses: pretty standard as over time your face shape changes and so does the prescription your eyes need. I actually loved these frames; they were a slim, slick purple plastic with blue and green detailing on the sides. They really suited my face shape and made me appear quite 'grown-up'. Quite sooner than expected this prescription wasn't quite working for me so back to the optometrist I went. 


My next pair of glasses were what I thought were the coolest most rad and hip pair of frames that were ever made. Looking back I really regret my decision to purchase bright purple ray-bans. Mum tried to talk me out of them and I wish I listened... they did not suit my face shape nor were they comfortable. The lenses in these frames were called "access" lenses. I'd have preferred to keep my original slim purple frames but unfortunately, I need to have a bigger frame to accommodate for the access lenses. Basically it meant there was a different prescription up the top of the glasses than to the bottom; which meant the upper lense made it clear to view boards at school whereas the lower lense made it easier for reading. Funnily enough these are the type of glasses that old people wear; yup, 15 year old Tayla was wearing old people lenses. The school I went to was full of "can I try them on?" type of kids and another fault in my purple spectacles was that so many people tried them on till eventually they didn't fit my face properly. Not to names names but one kid I remember had quite a large head in comparison to mine and he constantly badgered me so he could wear them: NOT cool. 

When I moved to Brisbane and my eyes started getting fuzzy, strained and tired even when I was wearing my glasses we knew it was time for a new prescription. We went to a new optometrist and he was excellent at explaining what was going on with my eyes. He explained I have a stigmatism which means my eyes aren't the usual shape, and that I was both long sighted and short sighted. Lots of people are, but it's hard to create the 'perfect' prescription to cater for both. The reason I had access lenses beforehand was to cater for this issue but I really didn't enjoy the 'gradient' effect of the prescription so we decided to stick to a distance lense that would help me in classes and on the computer. I got them fitted to a brand new frame and this time I listened to mum and went with a smaller, square framed tortoise shell print ray-ban. I loved these glasses and they were great for about 12 months until I started uni and my eyesight deteriorated again. 


So this year I started uni and was wearing my glasses a lot more than I was used to. I started getting headaches and strained eyes as soon as I tried to read something with my glasses on and after a few weeks of nothing improving we headed back to the optometrist. Again, he explained what was going on with my eyes and they were basically deteriorating as all peoples eyesight does. We discussed my options in length and I was provided with the opportunity to again, have the access lenses and give them another go or to have two pairs of glasses: one for reading and the computer and one pair for driving and lecture theatres. Due to the headaches I got previously from my access frames me and mum decided we'd try having two pairs. I am sticking with my beloved tortoise shell ray-bans and they have been fitted with new lenses for distance; these are the pair I will be wearing most often whilst I'm driving and at uni. The second pair, a new pair that are black and slightly rounder than my ray-bans are my reading glasses. I am surprisingly happy with how they look on me and am absolutely amazed at the sharpness of words and peoples faces when I put them on. In order to counteract the fast deterioration of my eyesight I am going to do my best to wear my glasses more often; no more being lazy, no more whinging... I only have one pair of eyes after all! So there we have it; my new glasses and my spectacle history. 

Do any of you guys wear glasses or have the same laziness issues as I do? What do you think of my new spectacles?
Hope everything is going well!
Love from Tayla xx

4 comments:

  1. I've never had to wear glasses but in recent years I kinda wish i did because there are so many cool frames out there at the moment and glasses have really come into their own as a fashion accessory. I love yours, they really suit you.

    Cats in Crop Tops

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  2. love these glasses! I just wear contacts! x

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    1. I suffer from dry eyes and allergies so contacts probably aren't suited too well to me! Thank you so much! x

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