Ten Reasons Why I Hate Wearing Glasses

Not so long ago I reviewed my new glasses. They are lush - my first ever pair with light-reactive lenses which makes me more inclined to wear them as I've always struggled when wearing glasses whilst driving when it's sunny. But this review made me think a lot about something I've been meaning to talk about for a while.

Why am I so hung up about wearing glasses?

I grew up in a time of NHS plastic gender-led pink/blue glasses and dreaded the annual eyesight test as I knew I was borderline for being issued with the coloured monstrosities. I managed to get away with not having to wear glasses until I was about twelve or thirteen - I certainly don't remember having to choose a pair whilst in primary school - and the selection was poor.  I probably didn't wear the glasses as much as I should have done because... well... vanity. Plain and simple.

Glasses hold a lot of power in modern (media-led?) society.  Glasses wearers are always portrayed in a specific way in television programmes or films. In comedy, more often than not, the underdog or the geek always wears glasses (and weirdly I chose a silhouette of glasses for my other blog, Geekalicious), girls automatically become sexy when they whip off their glasses and swish their hair about and even Superman hid behind Clark Kent's glasses as a disguise.

One character in 'modern history' who has made glasses part of her style was Deirdre Barlow (played by Anne Kirkbride up until her death earlier this year from cancer). There have been many a style, each fitting in with the current era; you can definitely pinpoint the decade of an episode of Coronation Street just by looking at Deirdre's glasses.  At Anne's memorial service, Bill Roache (Ken Barlow) mentioned that they were currently filming the funeral of Deirdre:

"... I had a scene as Ken where I'm given Deirdre's glasses but of course, Annie wore them for 30 years so you certainly don't need any motivation for the acting."

Obviously, maturity defines the way in which we think about our day-to-day life (and I can't do the hair swish thing anyway as I've always had short hair) so if I don't wear my glasses now I literally can't see enough to drive, read a computer screen or even watch the television. I don't have the worst eyesight in the world but my outlook does need sharpening up.  

I love wearing my contact lenses but find my eyes dry out quicker these day so have to be selective when I wear them. I've also considered laser eye treatment but (a) have heard ALL the horror stories and (b) have you SEEN the cost?! However, I am making a conservative effort to wear my glasses more, especially around my grandchildren because of a very important development.

They both now wear glasses. They both detest wearing them - just like I did. When we go out for walks I call us The Glasses Girls and make sure we have positive conversations about how we can see so much more and find interesting things to look at now we are wearing our super-power glasses. And the need to do this hit home when we were out feeding the ducks on the canal one Sunday evening. The conversation with Megan (age 5) went like this:

Megan (totally out of the blue): I hate wearing my glasses!

Me: Why? They look great!

Megan: I can see perfectly well here [she holds her hands reading distance away from her face] but I can't see all this [she flings her arms open dramatically]

Me: But...

Megan: I just want my old face back.

It's hard finding an answer to that.

With my face furniture, I think hair and make-up are important (to me) and I always find that my glasses 'fit' on the front of my head better if I've recently had my hair cut.  Also, I believe one of the reasons that I always wear strong eye make-up is because I have always feared that I would lose my eyes (my favourite part of my body) behind the glasses. There is a current trend to create a neutral and lined eye and have a bold lipstick. I'm still not convinced this would suit me. 

There's also the fact that I'm sure my face (or is it my ears) are lopsided because whenever I look at myself in the mirror, my frames are slanted down towards the left.  In fact, I saw Tom Fletcher (he of McBusted) mention the same thing in one of his vlogs recently.

So here are my ten reasons why I hate glasses.

1. I have a constant red mark on either side of the bridge of my nose. And occasional matching ones just above my ears.
2. I can't lie on the settee to watch television.
3. I squint at the mirror when I put my make-up on.
4. I squint at the mirror when I brush my hair.
5. I squint at the mirror when I straighten my hair. 
6. I have to turn my head to see something at the side of me. It's the equivalent to tunnel vision. 
7. I have to have a really good fitting pair for running (or any sport) as they bounce or slide up and down my nose.
8. I can't rub my eyes or my face without having to take them off. 
9. I suffer from vlogger-inception when filming YouTube videos due to reflections in the screen.
10. I can't drink a hot brew, open an oven door or walk in the rain with out having to stop, remove glasses, scrub at the lenses with a loose corner of clothing, slide them back on, adjust and carry on (any Friend's fans remember the one with Chandler in the sauna with Monica's father?).
11. (Bonus) I have to stumble to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

I do have one top tip though and this is something that I only found out recently. Always chose a glasses frame that follows the line of your eyebrow. Since using these words of wisdom, it's been much easier to choose frames to suit my face.

What are your experiences with glasses? Do you have any woes or top tips to add?