Let me preface this rant. I get that some of you wear fake glasses for fun or have done it once in your life. I get that. It's cool. I don't hate you. I do get annoyed with you all sometimes though, and I think once I explain I'll be pretty justified feeling that way.
I was 12 when I started noticing that the world was a little...fuzzy. The teacher sat me in the back and I had a hard time reading the board, but I figured this was just because the teacher's handwriting sucked or that the markers she used were too thin or something. Or, I figured, my neighbors probably can't read it either and we'll just suffer together till a new seating chart. But then they all informed me that they could see the board perfectly and that I was the weird one here.
So I told my mom and we went to an eye doctor and it turns out I'm nearsighted and need glasses. We got some simple, plastic framed ones and the rest is history.
So fast forward to August this year when school is about to start, and what do we have here? Every other post on my instagram feed is a popular girl, presumably a cheer leader or a dancer or student council member, in a pair of big, plastic, fake glasses with pigtails/an intentionally unattractive outfit/books/etc with a caption like "getting my nerd on for the new school year #glasses #nerdstatus #nerdlyfe #backtoskool".
Umm...yeah. That bothers me a little bit. I get that you're trying to be cute, but I wear glasses because I 1)Need them to see and drive and function and 2)Feel like they are a fun accessory that fits my personality and my personal style. So when it seems like every teenage girl feels like wearing glasses makes you a nerd and socially awkward and weird and a bookworm, that is going to bug me. And this isn't just a once-a-year thing. I am constantly seeing posts like this. Seriously. All the time.
There is also another breed of girly internet post that bugs me- when girls talk about having a "lazy day" or "ugly day" and make it very obvious because they don't have make up on, their hair isn't done, and- you guessed it- they are wearing their glasses. Glasses are becoming associated with being lazy, nerdy, and weird, and that's going to bother me because I wear glasses and I am none of those things. I literally saw a post the other day where a girl had just gotten contacts and posted a glasses-less picture with the caption "Just got contacts! I'm not ugly anymore!" Oh. All right. Glasses make you ugly. I was not aware. Cool.
So let me just establish some things, universe.
1. I am a girl who chooses to wear glasses. No, I am not getting contacts anytime soon. I'm not getting lasik either.
2. Glasses can be fashion forward and trendy. They are a simple accessory that make an impact. Wearing them doesn't make me any less cute or attractive than someone who is glasses-less.
3. I may be a nerd, but it has nothing to do with my glasses. I do that all on my own, foolz.
4. Don't ask me for help on your homework because you noticed I wear glasses and you assume I'm a scholar. If being smart was as easy as wearing glasses there would be a whole lot more people who wear them.
5. When I take my glasses off to clean them and you notice me without them, please refrain from using the phrase "You look so pretty without your glasses!", as if I just made the transformation from an ugly troll to a beautiful supermodel. Let's not kid ourselves- I'm hot either way.
6. And while we're on this topic, if I have my glasses off for some reason, resist holding up some fingers and asking "How many fingers am I holding up?!!!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!" because I will most likely roll my eyes at you. I'm blind, not stupid.
I feel sort of bad that this post seems so angry and mean, but I'm not gonna lie, some of these girls are just plain rude with how they approach glasses. As annoyed as I am, this won't deter me from wearing my glasses. If anything, I want to wear them more to show the world that glasses are, in fact, really cool.
I used to be insecure about my glasses, but within the last few years I have really grown to love them, and one experience stands out in my mind. I went to homecoming last year with one of my close friends, Jacob. I was getting ready to go to the dance; getting my hair curled and my makeup done, and, as I was putting my dress on, it occurred to me that I was still wearing my glasses. I sat there for a minute and wondered if I should try not wearing them. It was a formal occasion, after all, and my sources had told me that glasses mean being dressed-down and casual and sometimes even a little sloppy. But, when I took them off, it just didn't feel right. So I decided I would wear them and then try to take them off for pictures so at least I would look somewhat attractive and pretty in the photographic evidence of the day. So we get together and we're about to take pictures, and I say to Jacob "I think I'll take my glasses off for the pictures so I look nicer." he stopped me. "Umm, why are you taking your glasses off?" he said, "You're Lauren."
I have seriously not forgotten that moment. It might seem insignificant, but I think that's when I started to realize that I can wear glasses if I want to because I'm Lauren, and I determine whether or not glasses make me look nerdy and lazy, or, alternatively, beautiful and cool.
So girls, continue to post your "nerd" pictures. I'll be over here posting my model shots.
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