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Iris’s Perspective – Wearing Glasses in the 1980s

I knew I had a problem seeing far when I would sit really close to the television by about the age of six. Once I reached higher up in the school and I needed to sit at the front of the class to see the chalkboard, glasses were an obvious consequence by time I turned about 12.

At first I did not want to wear glasses, however I found the frames fun. I came across a pair of white ones and would wear them without the lenses, even though I needed still needed to see.

Growing up in the 1980s in the age of the material girl, looking your best was a priority and glasses did not always go with that image. I had not heard of anyone who had received laser eye surgery – I really did not even know what it was.

At first when laser eye surgery came out there were reports about people going blind. Others would say it changed their lives. I decided to just stick with my contacts, no matter how much they bothered me. I did know of some cultural groups who would get surgery to add an eyelid to their eyes. One of my best friends at the time had this surgery.

By time the 1990s rolled around and I was in university, I wore my contacts exclusively. They were one of the biggest pains in the world. I also find that putting in contacts is a skill itself…something that is developed as a skill with practice. When I would revert to my glasses for a time and then go back to contacts, I could not pry my eyes open long enough to put in those tiny, clear, round circles.

I can completely understand why someone would choose to do eye surgery…especially when it comes to issues of vanity and how important it may be when it comes to how they look. This would depend on the career they are in.

I keep wearing my glasses mainly for convenience. When I heard in a news report that contacts are actually bad for your eyes, I started to wear my glasses. Plus I am older now and less affected by concerns surrounding vanity. I have had flashes in the past of considering laser eye surgery; however figure that the money can be better spent in other ways.

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