Glasses or No Glasses?

Glasses or No Glasses?

“So, glasses or no glasses?” I’m trolling the hallway, nabbing every student I can find. My senior portrait sitting is tomorrow and I can’t decide: Glasses or no glasses? Maybe other people can give me their opinions.

“Um, I think glasses,” said one of my neighbors, “but then again, Michael, you should know that I like it more when people wear glasses as a general rule.”

“No glasses would be better,” said another.

“Glasses, definitely. You have small eyes.”

“No, no glasses I think.”

So it went on and on. And on. Then finally, an interesting tidbit of advice: “So I think you should wear whatever you feel most comfortable in; whatever best reflects who you are—I mean, do you often wear glasses or not?”

Ah, but there’s the rub. Sometimes I wear them, sometimes I don’t. I wear glasses when I read, because contacts dry out my eyes too fast. I wear glasses when I relax, or when I take a shower. On the other hand, I wear contacts when I play sports or get a haircut. So I guess my problem is simply this: I’m both glasses and no glasses.

Now if a friend of mine were here, he would probably roll his eyes and say something along the lines of, “You know, glasses or no glasses doesn’t really matter. They’re only the superficial part of you. What’s really you is deep inside, and that part of you is the most important part. Glasses or no glasses, that part will shine through.”

But see, that’s just the same problem right there, except it’s reworded to sound wiser. Do glasses not matter at all to the “real” me—to who I am?