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Get the real deal from real teens about what it’s like to wear contacts and how it’s helped them turn in a better performance.

  • Jasmine W.

    My name is Jasmine, I am 15 years old and I have been a year round competitive swimmer since I was 6 years old. I have been wearing contacts for the last six months and they have made a tremendous difference in my swimming performance.

    I have always loved my glasses and treated them like a cool accessory for all of my outfits however, they would leave indentions and marks on my nose and most importantly I couldnt wear them in the water for practice or meets. Since water blurs your vision somewhat anyways the addition of having poor vision equals a not so great experience. I had difficulty judging my true distance to the wall when doing my flips turns, I could not see the competition in the pool next to me, and I could not see my coaches when they were giving us instruction at practice. Which we all know thats kind of important. :-) Overall my contacts have given me more freedom to be more active and to perform at the top of my game!!! Thanks Coopervision!

  • Michelle

    My name is Michelle and I am 15 years old. I just recently started using contact lenses thanks to CooperVision’s Gear Up Program. In general, having glasses seemed very fun, fashionable, and exciting. But just like everything else, they come with flaws. Since glasses are fragile and expensive, it was always a concern being careful not to break or misplace them. I also had to be conscientious with them while participating in sports. Figure skating is a huge part of my life and my glasses would continually fall off while performing or prevent me from seeing the other skaters. Switching to contacts has helped me tremendously in figure skating and in other daily activities.

    Despite the amount of care and cleaning they require, I feel contacts have given me more opportunities and motivation. At first, it was hard to adjust to the feeling of contacts but with a little bit of practice, inserting and removing them has become a normal routine. The process of receiving my first pair of contact lenses was simpler than I expected; having an astigmatism, I worried the contacts wouldn’t be as convenient to me as other people. However, CooperVision accommodated me with the prescription of Toric lenses, especially made for astigmatic patients. The lenses are extremely comfortable that I frequently forget they are even there, and with the peripheral vision that contacts provide, I am able to see everything around me more clearly.

    CooperVision’s program has made it possible for me to enjoy each and every day looking through a new perspective and “seeing beyond the ordinary”. I recommend contacts to anyone, but particularly to athletes. It can affect many aspects of your life, just as it has for me.

  • Ellen N.

    My name is Ellen. Here is my story and experience with contact lenses. I started wearing contact lenses last year in 7th grade. The main reason for me to get contacts was that I was tired of worrying about my glasses. Before, I would have to worry about my glasses accidentally falling off while running in my P.E. classes. After I started to wear contact lenses, I didn’t have to worry about it anymore.

    The brand of contact lenses I wear is CooperVision Proclear daily disposable. They are very comfortable lenses and sometimes I literally forget that I have them on. Wearing contact lenses made my life much easier both at school and at home. When I played piano with my glasses on, they used to slide down to the tip of my nose, and I would have to stop playing just to push my glasses up. With contacts, I don’t have to worry about the glasses falling off anymore. Now, the only time I wear my glasses is when it is really late or when my eyes start to feel dry. Wearing contacts changed my life and it is one of the best decisions I ever made.

  • Mark K.

    My name is Mark and I have been using contacts for three years now. I believe that my decision to switch from glasses to contacts lenses had a major impact on my life. Sports in particular have been much easier for me.

    Before contact lenses sports were very difficult. Due to such poor vision, I was forced to wear sports goggles. Theses goggles were not very useful because they gave me no peripheral vision. I play basketball, baseball and football in high school and all sports required me to have good peripheral vision. Baseball and football required the use of a helmet. With sports goggles it was nearly impossible to wear a helmet. I always struggled with keeping the goggles on my face when putting a helmet on. Goggles just got in the way and would fall off my face. Basketball can be a very physical sport. When wearing glasses I was taking a risk of breaking or damaging them. I have broken several pairs of glasses in sports. Glasses are not cheap. Every time I broke a pair it was around $100 to fix or get a new pair. Contacts are attached to the eye and give me full peripheral vision. They are most appropriate for sports. Helmets are no longer an issue for me. I have a broadened range of view and can see much easier in sports. Basketball is sport played in the spring and summer. Many times when playing basketball the sun causes me to wear sunglasses. With contacts I can simply just wear a pair of sunglasses and play ball. On the other hand, glasses made it very difficult to wear sunglasses because it is harder to wear two pairs rather than just a pair.

    I highly recommend people who are active in sports and wear glasses to switch to contacts. They are more comfortable and easier to deal with. Contacts have made a severe impact on my life in sports and I assure you that they will do the same for you.

  • Jarred T.

    I changed for glasses to contacts my freshmen year of High School, because I did not like or enjoy wearing my glasses. But, I also switched because of the sport I play, Volleyball. Contacts have changed my social life dramatically. When I wear them I feel more comfortable with myself. They have improved my sports playing as well. I do not have to constantly adjust my glasses during my games anymore and I and able to completely focus on the game without having to worry about my glasses slipping off of my nose and landing on them.

    My social life has become a lot simpler, since I have switched to contacts. I am more confident in myself, and I don’t worry about looking silly or extremely goofy all of the time in my glasses. I do sometimes have to wear glasses to school or just out and about, but this is only when I have absolutely no time to get my contacts and put them in, or when I am relaxing at home.

    Also, my contacts have made my scholastic experience so much easier. I don’t have to take time to clean my glasses in the middle of class while taking notes, and I no longer have to struggle with my eyes constantly adjusting from near to far with the blurry period in between. The fact that I am able to feel so much better about myself and my life in general when wearing contacts instead of wearing my glasses, gives me a reason to wear them as much as possible when going to school, going to play volleyball, or just going out in general.

  • Juliet S.

    I started wearing lenses when I turned 12 because I play a lot of sports and glasses felt unsafe and uncomfortable out on the field. My optometrist showed me how to put the lens in my eye by putting the lens on the white of my eye and then I look at it. Its so easy. Wearing lenses when playing soccer removes any worry of getting hit in the face, plus my glasses don't bobble up and down. Plus, it looks less nerdy than wearing "rec specs."

    I wear Biofinity Toric soft lenses for astigmatism. I play soccer, basketball and run track. My advice to other athletes is "believe in yourself so you build confidence so you can be the best you can be," and "always set a goal for yourself and try to achieve it."

  • Kortney S.

    When I was in 5th grade everyone had glasses and it was the cool thing to get glasses. So when I found out I needed them, I was so happy. But when I got them it was different story. They were annoying and I wasn’t satisfied with the way I looked in them. I would bring them to class and wouldn’t put them on until I absolutely needed them.

    Also they were a pain when it came to sports. The coaches hated when their players wore glasses and there was that constant worry of getting them broken while playing. And the fact that you couldn’t wear glasses while swimming was really inconvenient because you couldn’t see anything. I hated my glasses and wanted contacts to solve all of my problems. Now that I have contacts I can ride the jet ski, wear sunglasses, and also not have any worries while playing sports.

  • Raegan S.

    I started wearing contacts when I was in 5th grade. I needed them because I was a catcher in softball and I had to wear a catcher’s helmet and it was difficult for me to wear with glasses. Once I got contacts it was so much easier to see the ball and a lot less of a hassle to wear the helmet.

    Another reason why I chose to get contacts was when I was playing soccer. I was always scared the ball would hit me in the face and break my glasses. When I wore them they would slide off my face and I would constantly have to push them up. The biggest reason I chose to get contacts was that I had to take my glasses off every time I took a shower, went to the pool or went boating so I would always forget where I put them.

  • Remelee K.

    I am 16 years old and I have been wearing the Proclear contacts for over 5 years now without problems. I was in the 5th grade at a Virginia school when I received my first pair of contact lenses. I was only 11 yrs old but I took on this responsibility without any concerns or doubts; feeling like it was just part of my wardrobe. As time went on it my Proclear contacts were as important to me as my cellphone and you know that is a daily necessity. I appreciated my lenses more, and wanted to wear more at the same time I got a bit more comfortable.

    Being active and deeply into playing sports, like softball, soccer and volleyball; wearing contact lenses made it easier for me to play knowing the fact that I would not have to worry about wearing glasses that would get bent , possibly smashed, fall off, fog up. Even though I wear contacts, there are three reasons (or times) when I still wear my glasses, mainly if I am in a rush in the morning, no after school activities, or just when I am dressing casually and my glasses will give me the fashion flare to make my outfit complete—you must always accessorize. And to inspire teens like me, I would say just try it before you make a judgement call. I believe you will agree that if you find and put on the best then you do not need the rest or any others that cannot and have not stood the test.

The teens featured here are friends and family of CooperVision employees. Many teens submitted their stories to be featured and those selected were awarded a six month supply of CooperVision lenses.