10 things I’ve learned since I started wearing glasses.

The world comes in high definition

This was pretty much my first thought when I first put them on. I likened it to walking into JB Hi Fi and looking at the televisions, starting at the less expensive screens first. Thinking – Oh yeah, they’re okay. Then looking at the high definition, LED, super dooper crisp, one trillion pixel something-something TV… and thinking – wow. That’s amazing. Then looking back at the first TV you saw and realising how shit it looks. That’s what getting glasses was like.

Choosing glasses is really hard

It took me three trips to different glasses shops, and a bit of Facebook assistance, to finally decide on my glasses. They really make a difference to the appearance of your face and there are SO MANY to choose from. I’m also incredibly indecisive and at one point walked out of a store because I couldn’t choose between two, practically identical, styles of glasses.

People ask if they’re prescription glasses

This one I maybe understand, as it’s a new thing for me, but I don’t really see myself as someone who’d wear clear lensed glasses for the fun of it, or to look cool. It would make me feel like a bit of a faker if they were worn purely for fashion. Of course they’re prescription glasses! I didn’t realise clear lensed glasses non-prescription glasses was even a thing.

My eyes have adjusted to them very quickly

I was googling “Can glasses make your eyesight worse” because now I’ve been wearing them my vision seems to be worse without them. When I take them off it’s like drunk vision – all blurry and swirling. Turns out – it’s just normal part of wearing glasses. Though your eyes do get a little lazy now that they don’t have to work hard to focus, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It means I can see easier, that’s kind of the whole point of them.

I can now relate to a character on Buffy

Unfortunately it’s Giles. He was always rubbing his glasses and now I do to. I’m always either touching them, getting stuff off them, or somehow smudges just appear on them; all the time. Though I’ve since taken the warning of not just doing it on whatever scrap of fabric or corner of my shirt – I carry a microfibre cloth with me at all times for quickly clearing them up on the go. Also regularly washing them with water. Who knew glasses were so much work?

They fog up as the most inopportune moment

Like when I’m washing dishes, running or cooking. Suddenly I can’t see a thing. The first time it happened I didn’t understand what was happening, everything just went grey as I opened the oven. Gave me a bit of a fright. Now it’s just annoying.

I feel like I’m constantly fiddling with them and adjusting them

They fit fine and sit well, it’s just another thing for me to habitually touch and play with. Once I notice I’m doing it, it gets really distracting because I can’t not fiddle, and I can’t not think about the fact I can’t not do it.

I’m scared I’ll break them or lose them

I actually had a dream (nightmare?) that my glasses were snapped clean in half. This is a real fear for me! Not only are glasses not necessarily cheap (though mine are covered by my health fund, so that’s handy) but they’re also pretty fragile and I don’t have a spare pair (yet!) so if they get dropped, bent, grabbed by a small child or sat on then I’m going to have a small issue. They’re also another thing for me to forget, or race around trying to find, in the moring. Which is pretty much the last thing I ever needed in my life.

They make taking pictures tricky

Not just deciding whether or not you want to wear them for a picture, though you must take them off for things like passport photos, but finding that right angle where you don’t get reflective glare, while also catching “the right angle” of your face. Very complicated.

They look good.

I won’t lie; a small part of me is happy to have less-than-perfect eyesight so now I have a good reason to wear these.