entertain

The idea of sticking soft plastic lenses in to my eye did not appeal to me. Every time I thought about getting contacts, visions of pus-covered eyes and scratched retinas filled my mind.

In short, I was terrified.

However, a few years ago, I tried to get them anyway. Then, they didn’t fit. Not only did they itch and burn, but they were rather unwieldy—those little plastic disks kept falling out. It seemed as if every time I would bother to look up, at least one lens would fall out.

That turned me off of contacts for a while. With my unique combination of astigmatism and myopia—football-shaped eyes that distort anything and severe nearsightedness—I felt that no contact would ever work for me. Glasses were the way to go.

Recently, however, I decided to give it one more shot. With graduation, traveling, and a new school in my future, I decided that contacts might be worth another try.

So, late one Friday night, I made an appointment at a local eye store, Site for Sore Eyes. Yes, I know it’s a chain, however, I’ve been going there for years, each time getting my vision corrected and seeing the world once again. Invariably, my grades seem to improve dramatically after each appointment. Perhaps seeing the board helps one learn. But I digress…

The people who work there are, of course, wonderful. After trying repeatedly to get my eyes examined at Kaiser Permanente, where I have insurance, I became more and more frustrated. Finally, I dragged my dad back to that wonderful place on West Portal, and successfully got an exam at a fair price.

They had the glasses ready the same day, and the contacts came a week later.

Now, these contacts are toric lenses, which means that, like me, they’re bottom heavy. One of the staff showed me how to use them. After putting them on and removing them approximately 3 times, I had the hang of it. No itching, burning or blow-outs.

Getting contacts was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Now, I can see better. Additionally, I have received more compliments on my eyes in the past week than I have in the past few years. Seeing life in a new way is very, very good.