I got my first pair of glasses when I was six, I believe. At first I only wore them when I was at school and actually in class. Then I wore them all day at school. Then I started wearing them at home. I have worse eyesight than virtually anyone I know. My prescription is around -8.00, if that tells anyone anything. There is no way I can get around without glasses or contacts. Though I do try sometimes if I go to the pool, because both glasses and contacts are a nuisance around water--but I feel extremely self conscious because I'm worried about walking into/off something, and I can't tell if people are looking at me unless they're practically in my face.
I got contacts at the end of grade ten. From grade eleven until last year or so, I pretty much only wore contacts in public. Lately I have started wearing my glasses a lot more again because a) I have a pretty nice pair right now and b) I think the contacts were a bit hard on my eyes. I hate to reinforce a cliche, but I think that getting contacts in high school did a lot for my self esteem. I know that in grade eleven and twelve I felt much better about myself and didn't feel like such a geek--but hey, almost everyone has self esteem problems in junior high. I do think I look better without glasses, though maybe not horrible with them. Though I'd say the line "Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses" is true in my case. Though they seldom make passes at me without my glasses, either. I dunno, there's something about being six feet tall, having a deep voice and obviously having a brain that makes a lot of men run in the opposite direction, at least romantically. Glasses don't help either.
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Time is a train
Makes the future the past
Leaves you standing in the station
Your face pressed up against the glass