[Nicola]

1) I find the term "Four-Eyes" an insult, I wore glasses all the time for 14 years before I got contact lenses and unfortunately people called me that at school which I hated. My mum was the same as me and wore glasses but she was older when she got them so didn't put up with that many taunts and I couldn't imagine her not wearing glasses until she got contact lenses. A few people I know occasionally wear glasses for reading etc and don't get that kind of comment.

2) Yes, there have been times when I've felt conspicuous, for example when looking back on old photos of myself and saying "No wonder everyone picked on me". If I'm going out and know that people will be looking at me and I'm likely to want to make an effort with my appearance then it's contact lenses or nothing because I know people will look at me, see the glasses and judge me on that.

3) Yes, I do a lot more with my looks when I'm wearing contact lenses, there are several hairstyles that I won't even attempt when wearing my glasses but don't think twice about with contact lenses. I also tend to dress differently with my contact lenses - today I've got my lenses in and look good cos I'm wearing a strappy top and have my hair up. I probably wouldn't have made much of an effort with my hair, for example, if I'd been wearing glasses today.

4) Not now I don't wear them that much, but when I wore them all the time I felt singled out as one of the few glasses wearers in my class at school (and the only one in my tutor group at secondary school who wore them!) and that contributed to my feelings of being isolated. When my mum started wearing her contact lenses and I was the only glasses wearer in the house I even felt the odd one out in the family.

5)I go for personality rather than looks, glasses don't even come into the equation!