What's the point in living if you don't feel alive? Being only 18 many people (including my mum, dad and previous opticians) thought that I shouldn't get the surgery done at such a young age. To be honest, I was in two minds about the surgery, what if the whole thing goes wrong?! But I couldn't do many of the things I wanted to: go swimming, dance all night or stay up all night in London without worrying about vision! Going to university next year however, was one of the things that led me to go for it. Having quite sensitive eyes meant I could only wear my contacts for nine hours maximum and at university I'm going to be up all night partying and I didnt want to worry about my eyes especially after a few drinks!

So I booked the consultation secretly and went without my parents knowing because they would not have been best pleased! Whenever I said about laser surgery they always replied 'Your eyes are still changing, you won't be suitable!'

I went to the consultation at Watford and oh my goodness, the clinic was so much more modern than I ever expected! Because of my fairly poor prescription (left eye -4.50 and right eye -4.25 which means that my focal range is about 25cm) the cost was obviously much higher. I brought a previous optician prescription from two years ago with me which showed my eyes were indeed still stable which made my heart leap! It is indeed possible! However, due to my large pupils I would have to have wavefront surgery and in addition, I didn't like the thought of having a knife type instrument cut my eye so I decided to go for the Intralase. But, this was all talk.

After getting home from the consultation, I somehow had to approach my parents. When I told them I had been for the consultation they did go mad but I stood my ground and booked my laser surgery for a fortnight. I played a very risky game. My surgery was right during exams at school and if anything went wrong... well I didnt want to think about it! I couldn't have it done after because I was going on holiday to Menorca and if I booked my surgery after my exams I wouldn't be able to swim underwater! Some people may say I had my priorities wrong... but wait until you are told you are suitable for laser surgery. You are in euphoria.

On the day of the surgery I was obviously scared and thought today is make or break. At Uxbridge surgery I had a couple more tests and watched in the waiting room how people went into the operation room and came out about ten minutes later. I didn't ask anyone how they were and probably should have done!

The wait was torture but about 20 minutes later I was called into the surgery room. I had to wait about five minutes lieing on the table/ bed because my surgeon came in a bit late. And when he finally came in, it all began. It was a well rehearsed procedure and the people there were clearly professionals. A patch was put over my left eye first before the right eye was done. True I did feel a fair aount of pressure on my eye as the procedure was being done and I really was unsure whether I was meant to be feeling this but I let them continue with their work. Although it is only a 10 minute procedure I lost track of time, and I also lost track of what they were doing to my eyes! In the end I completely spaced out and kept thinking 'It's nearly over, it's nearly there!'

When they told me I was done I got up. I know it sounds truly crazy, and true, the vision's hazy but I could see better already! I had to relax a bit for 5 mintes, had my drops explained to me and then check the corneal flap was securely on but i left the surgery in under two hours.

My mum had driven me there and it was during the ride home that the anaesthetic started to wear off. Slowly my eyes started to get more painful and half an hour into the journey my eyes just wanted to close. And they did. But the light from outside stil tortured me. So I decided to put my hoody on back to front to block out more light so for half a hour I must have looked like a right fool!

I got home and managed to get to the door and ring it. I still couldn't open my eyes and my hoody made me look like a fool! My dad answered and nearly fainted, 'Oh my God, what has happened?!' I left my mum to explain as I went upstairs and lay down. I couldn't sleep The pain on a scale from 1 to 10 was about 8.5. Over the next 5 hours the pain gradually decreased to a 1 and by 6 o' clock I opened my eyes for the first time since the car journey. There was haze still; it was expected. But I could see down the garden and even see some individual leaves, I was so happy. I could see past the fact that I had to use drops 14 times a day and goggles during bed for a week in case I knocked my corneal flap, for the first time in 18 years I felt totaly independent.

2 months on and many post ops later - all is perfect. I can read the bottom line of the chart at Optical Express and the haze has practically disappeared. True it was an expensive operation but I spent £500 a year on contact lenses and optician appointments and I see it as an investment! Furthermore, there were a couple of instances where they forgot to phone me back but overall it was an extremely professional service. I got my appointment for my biannual contact lense appointment yesterday and I couldn't stop laughing. It just reminded me of my new freedom. Moreover, I'm going to Menorca tomorrow for a week; no lenses or glasses! Expect sunglasses of course! I can see underwater, I can party all night with no worries, I can get back to the hotel after a late night and not care about having to take my contacts out!

The one thing though that an unbelieveable amount of people say is that 'I wish I had done it sooner.' The overwhelming joy of this for me is that at the tender age of 18, I don't have this regret. I have my whole life ahead of me and infact I have not regrets at all. What's the point in living if you don't feel alive? Well I do now.