Everyone has to make sacrifices at some point. I learned this the hard way when it started getting hotter out and the sun became too constant and bright to ignore. That’s right — I had to wear sunglasses even though my eyes are, by far, my best feature.
I guess life isn’t fair after all.
For years, I’ve successfully dodged the issue of having to wear sunglasses outside. I’ve always had a hat ready to wear, or I’ve stood in the shade, or I’ve even held an umbrella in the direst situations, still leaving my eyes perfectly visible. However, today was different. I was on an outdoor bus tour of New York City and had left all of these sun-avoiding tools at my hotel, which left me with only one other option: my emergency sunglasses.
I never thought it would have to come to this.
While I understand that our inner beauty is what truly matters and my physical appearance shouldn’t be as important, covering up my best feature still definitely took a toll on me. Sure, my eyes weren’t strained by direct sunlight anymore, which could have damaged my eyes indefinitely, but at what cost?
How were people going to know that my eyebrows were perfectly threaded and I just got new eyelash extensions?
However, I still did what I could to remind everyone about my eyes since they really bring my whole face together. For the rest of the bus tour, I held up a picture of my face from my camera roll so everyone around me could see what was currently hidden at the moment.
After all, I wouldn’t be caught dead without my uncovered eyes.
Honestly, I’m frustrated. In the year of 2024, one would think that scientists would have figured out a way to protect your eyes from the sun without the use of sunglasses with UVA and UVB protection. If I could put sunscreen on my eyeballs, I would. But that doesn’t really seem to last, so I’m stuck with this terrible alternative.
Here’s to hoping for eyeball sunscreen in 2025!
