I first got my glasses when I was 9 years old. I remember being propped up on a big medical seat and having different lights flashed into the corners of my eyes while the optician searched for whatever optical misplacements were there. no one in my family ever had a problem with their eyes, and the thought of being the only one sporting stylish lenses seemed really cool.
After what seemed like hours of closing one eye for inspection and reading different charts, my mother and I received news on my issue. It was simple nearsightedness, nothing serious, but I was ecstatic to find out—I finally had an accessory unique to me and only me. Choosing from a plethora of MassHealth friendly frames, all gorgeous in their own sense, I left with a tiny pair of purple-black glasses with lenses less than two inches in height.
Sitting in the car home was an experience unlike any other. The bricks on buildings, leaves on trees, and people walking by were all painted with a new brush of intricate details. No more squinting, no more fuzzy images in the distance. As the years have progressed, my eyeglass preferences have as well, my eyes weak as ever from accidentally making them dependent, but framed now behind funky and bold big lenses. My journey with eyewear has always been and always will be ever changing, but each prescription, stronger than the last, brings an even greater moment of clarity.
Gabriella Barroso