Triinu Kree: life is now so much richer!
I’m a 19-year-old girl from Viljandi, now living in the capital, romanticizing a life full of opportunities. I’ve been acting for five years in local and international films and TV series, helping to coach drama studios, sometimes writing articles for various publications, and I’m also a (stage) poet and writer in different genres. At the moment, I’m working as a dramaturg for one production, as a front-of-house assistant at the Music and Theatre Academy, and as a sales consultant at Reet Aus Studio Shop. I study dental assisting at Tallinn Health Care College — both of my grandmothers worked in dentistry. I love crimson red, feminism, pumpkin soup, skirts with pockets, and admiring the simple things in life with childlike gratitude. But now to the point — as a KSA guest blogger, I want to share my experience of becoming free from glasses.
The beginning of life with glasses
I got my first glasses when I was eight. I couldn’t see the blackboard properly at school and always had to whisper to my (still best) friend to copy what was written there. My first visit to a local eye clinic as a child was shocking — after the exam the doctor said, “You’re practically blind!” My first prescription was for one diopter of nearsightedness. I didn’t want to wear glasses at school, so during one English class, an older, kind male teacher gestured to me to put them on until he came over and said: “Glasses!” I reluctantly took them out of my bag and put them on. Over the years, I’ve probably had five different pairs.
Doing sports was always uncomfortable. When skipping rope, my glasses would constantly slide down my nose; during gymnastics, they’d fog up or fall off and break. I often had to get new ones. As a teenager, glasses didn’t exactly make me more confident either — I was teased all through school, though not necessarily because of the glasses.
Contact lenses didn’t work
2022. A few years ago, my dad and I went to Tartu to get contact lenses made for me because I was going to have a bigger role in an international series about a shipwreck in Estonia. I was tired of the fact that in period films I could never appear without glasses. The whole crew was dressed in black and it was easy to tell who was who just by the way they walked. I’ve learned to recognize people by such details. Also, you can always tell when someone without glasses relaxes their face — their eyes start to squint automatically, which doesn’t look good either.
Unfortunately, the experience with lenses turned out negative. As the doctor explained, my eyes are overly sensitive and have stronger reflexes than normal. Despite trying all sorts of tricks, inserting the lenses took me forever. My eyes turned red and painful from irritation, and I became anxious. After filming Estonia, where I met my wonderful partner, I never touched lenses again. I have dry eye syndrome, so by the end of the day, wearing glasses often caused burning and scratching sensations — sometimes my eyes would start watering uncontrollably.
Dry Eye Syndrome
Once, during the filming of a Finnish TV series, I stood on stage with my glasses in front of a hall full of extras pretending to be the audience, when suddenly my eye started itching terribly. I blinked furiously, but the tears just wouldn’t come. I awkwardly shouted toward the team for a tissue, pretending it was an allergy attack. Comically, someone tapped me on the shoulder from behind and handed me a tissue, and I just kept going as if nothing had happened.
An unexpected opportunity
This summer, I saw a post by content creator Bärbel Moro on Instagram about KSA’s quick test. I thought I’d simply take the free test to check my eyes, not even considering the idea of a procedure — especially not before spring 2025 for financial reasons.
But the examination was smooth and pleasant, and while talking with the optometrist, the idea arose: why not have the surgery done before school and work start? Everything was explained in detail, and something that once felt intimidating suddenly became a source of calm confidence.
With a little help from family and some savings, I went for the procedure on August 23 — just a week after the examination. Everything went incredibly smoothly and surprisingly fast. It was like getting a quick injection — “Is that it already?” Walking through the lobby afterward, my vision was already amazingly clear.
The recovery went well. My eyes were sensitive the first evening, and the next day was the toughest — they were so swollen I could barely keep them open for more than a few seconds. By the third day, things started improving, and by the fifth, I already felt great. On the sixth day, I took my first walk with sunglasses, and by the seventh, I was back at work interviews. My eyes were slightly tender, like after a cold. It took a moment to adjust to depth perception — like getting used to stairs — but after a week, I was confidently back to my normal life.
A New World
I absolutely love waking up and immediately seeing everything clearly! It feels surreal but wonderful — “Do normal people really wake up like this?” (laughs) I can no longer see extremely close up like before, but I don’t mind — I see the leaves of the trees outside my window, license plates, and faraway billboards while riding the bus. At the theater, I can finally see the actors’ faces and expressions clearly.
Working out is so much easier — I don’t have to wipe sweat and clean my glasses separately anymore. I’m also happier with how I look. I can finally see the makeup colors I experiment with, and it’s much more fun. Acting and filming have also become simpler. I feel more confident and expressive without glasses. I seem to be seen differently too — perhaps more approachable. Now everything feels possible. I’d love to try skydiving someday!
My first kiss happened the day singer Kihnu Virve passed away — and I thought, why not take another symbolic “leap”? I’d like to direct my second (mono?) performance and work on new projects with my colleagues and friends from the field. Life is now definitely more open and full of possibilities.
