Glasses Girl

Good news: I entered a writing contest! Not-so-good news: my entry was not selected as a finalist.

Wa-wa.

Regardless, I was still very pumped to get my piece out there and I thought the topic we were asked to write about was a very interesting one. The question was: Who is the person you are most surprised to be friends with? And we were told to make our responses unique. For me, the answer was much more personal than even I had previously realized. Hope my reflection helps you, in a way, to pause and reflect on the special friendships and relationships that continue to surprise you.

I was only 10-years-old. My glasses were frosty pink and big and basically ate up half of my face. Sadly, I was lost without them. In my mind I had become ‘Glasses Girl’. Blessed with a big personality, it didn’t dawn on me that glasses weren’t that cool until I would sweat and they would slip down my little nose. Walking in the rain without an umbrella? A blurry mess of a journey. Gym class? I would be so nervous for the inevitable games of dodgeball and basketball that I would shudder prematurely, eyes closed and shoulders hunched, afraid of being whacked in the face. My glasses will shatter, I had thought. (And so, perhaps, would my fragile and still forming self-esteem.) Fortunately, neither ever did.

When I got older, I procured frames with much more moxie. Soon I was getting complimented for my specs and instead of feeling dumb and different, I felt smart. Glasses Girl was getting glam and moving up in the world! And it’s true: boys do make passes at girls who wear glasses.

But life really changed with my first pair of contacts. Holy moley! The world was my oyster! I finally looked like everyone else. There was no small wall of plastic and frame between me and the world . No barrier or separation of space and face. If I were to sweat, who cared? If I wanted to play sports, game on. All glossiness, no awkwardness. I was grateful that Glasses Girl had finally left the building.

Well, sort of. Each night, I take my contacts out and slip on my glasses. And that is still when I feel most myself. Part glossy and part “Glasses”, I’ve made peace with both parts of me. I can see the real me now, no correction required.