I started wearing glasses in 2nd grade, and my eyes worsened so much that I had to get new glasses every 6 months until I was 14, when I started wearing contacts (the greatest invention ever). I've never really learned to swim, because being in water is the most helpless feeling for me without either glasses or contacts. I can't do Lasik because my eyes are too bad and the outcomes aren't great. Not worth the risk as I would be guaranteed to have the side effects and probably couldn't drive at night.
I've had to go back to wearing glasses the majority of the time due to borderline glaucoma and other eye issues, and I hate it. But I am grateful for them, because without them I wouldn't be able to function at all.