stargazing with rapidly declining astigmatism

Submitted by imbruhcat t3_ybi127 in space

sorry this is a long post, i just wanna share this really bad!

growing up, i was insanely passionate about cosmology. i also had rapidly declining astigmatism, and by the time i was 16, my prescription was around -7 in both eyes. i am now almost 18 and my prescription is -12. because of how quickly my visit was declining, i almost never had the right prescription. this mean that most of the time, i couldn't see the stars at night. and whenever i got new glasses i would go outside early in the morning at look at the stars and identify constellations and important objects that i memorized in books, and i was usually filled with a sense of euphoria, enough to make me cry a little bit. i also live in an area that is commonly cloudy

last year, i had received an updated prescription. and my boyfriend took me out late at night and we drove somewhere kind of far with a bit less light pollution. and i remember him opening the sunroof and letting me stick my head out of the window while he was driving so i could see the stars, and it was so beautiful. it wasn't much compared to what i see online in places my egypt or alaska, but it was sooo much to me. and i remember freezing up and being so amazed at how pretty the night sky was...

a few months ago, i started a new job at a bakery that was about to open. the city was hosting "movies in the park" with a screen and projector at a nearby park. i was there handing out samples from the bakery, and once the the movie started, we put our tent and coolers away. a few of my friends showed up to surprise me, and we stuck around for the movie. i had also recently gotten an updated prescription and contact lenses. my friends brought a blanket and while they watched the movie, i was just looking up at the stars, really happy. and then i saw it, a shooting star blink by. i blinked and did a bit of a double take before realizing what it was, and i sat up and started telling my friends what i saw, because that was the first time i had ever seen a shooting star. the rest of the movie i was watching the sky, i saw a few more. i got so excited i felt like crying. my friends liked me telling them what constellations where what and stuff.

there you go, two nice little (long...) memories of mine that i remember very vividly. i forget a lot of things, but i hope i don't forget that :))

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octoreadit t1_itghaqb wrote

This is a beautiful vignette. Thank you for sharing!

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[deleted] t1_itgtmt7 wrote

[deleted]

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imbruhcat OP t1_itgvfo6 wrote

oh my! thank you!!! i very much appreciate your comment :)

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redditaccount71987 t1_ithamb0 wrote

Good luck. If you lose total vision just remember it. I've had visual snow my entire life. Had a period where it became very difficult to see the stars. May have been untreated brain or neurological insult as they mishandled things like my ammonia test then cancelled misc followups and refused to send me to any type of rehabilitation program for things like memory and brain functioning.

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Tacodelmar1 t1_ithk6v6 wrote

I wish my girlfriend cared about stars this much. I remember one night we walked outside and Orion was on full display right in front of us and I started explaining how to spot it via the the 3 stars on its belt, but she got bored and looked away. And then an enormous shooting star, the shooting star of a lifetime shot straight through Orion, like the hunter was shooting an arrow across the sky. And I sat there stunned. But by milliseconds, she had missed it. What a beautiful shared moment that could’ve been. Lost. >:(

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gwardotnet t1_itjf2pu wrote

One morning at basic training we were doing PT while it was still dark out. There was a huge meteor shower. I literally saw a dozen or more in 20 minutes. We were ooohing and ahhhhing so much the drill sergeants yelled at us to shut up.

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kevbayer t1_itk0qy2 wrote

If your rapidly deteriorating eyesight isn't due to other medical conditions, and if you can afford it, lasik can fix astigmatism.

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imbruhcat OP t1_itlkik1 wrote

i know, as far as i am concerned, it is not due to other medical conditions. i cannot afford lasik at the moment, but someday i really hope i can get it! then i don't need glasses or contacts to stargaze and i will always be able to see the stars !

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