Four eyes (minus two...)

We are all born with two eyes.
They vary in color, size, shape and usefulness.
Some of us are lucky enough to get two more eyes- glasses.

Since I was 7yrs. old, I have been a member of the quad-eyed population. My first pair was circular, hot pink and shiny gold frames. They covered a large surface area of my face just under my curled, poofy bangs and always caused a bright glare spot in every school photo. I loved them.

Even at such a young and impressionable age, I wasn't ashamed of my optical enhancers. The name calling, "four eyes! geek! nerd!", none of it affected me. Most weaker children would have cried their way home and fed their frames to the dog.

Over the years my eye shields got progressively cooler- from edgy frameless lenses to artsy blue square specs. Contacts were never a thought that crossed my mind. Obviously it was brought up, but it never stuck.

Until last week.


I didn't lose any self-esteem- the fact that I wear over-sized yet stylish sunglasses over my spare eyes didn't embarrass me. The fact that my blue plastics sat crooked on my nose didn't bother me. It was one conversation with my girl friends about make-up.

We are all attending a prom-like dance (Theatre Ball) next week and everyone was pumped about flashy eye shadows and lengthy fake lashes...they all looked at me and said, "Well, we'll find something fun for you."

But-but I wanna play too.

So I went out and got contacts. Yeah, it happened that fast. 13yrs. of ocular confidence out the window.

After a $90 tutorial fee and one hour of watery eyes and probing fingers, I got rid of my specular friend.

Seeing me in public will be the testament to whether or not I won the battle that morning with my eyes' natural instinct to fight back when being poked with foreign objects.

I hate them.

My "friend" once told me my face looks fat without glasses and now I believe him. I hate being without my face shield, my spare pair. No one has even noticed! Unless you knew me back in kindergarten, you have never seen me glass-free.

I will continue the daily battle but will not win the war. After Theatre Ball, you can all call me four eyes again.