If you weren’t aware, astigmatism is a common vision issue that happens when the cornea or lens of the eye has an irregular curvature, causing light to focus unevenly on the retina.
This causes objects to appear blurry or distorted, whether viewed up close or from a distance. The condition is typically corrected with glasses, contact lenses, or, in some cases, surgery.
And now TikTok user @randomthoughts2226 has gone mega viral for realizing just how differently he sees as someone with astigmatism. In his video that has nearly eight million views, he says, “You mean to tell me, people who have normal vision don’t see, like, glowing stars when they look at a Christmas tree? When they look at the lights?”
“I just saw a damn video on here of what a Christmas tree looks like to a person without an astigmatism. It blew my damn mind. Blew my mind!”
“…That shit’s crazy. I feel sorry for you people that have normal vision. That’s gotta be boring. Alright. Love you, bye,” he concluded.
There are numerous comparison videos on TikTok of astigmatism and no astigmatism, so let’s look at a popular one from an actual ophthalmologist, Dr. Jennifer Tsai, OD.
Here is what a Christmas tree looks like if you do not have astigmatism:
Here is what it looks like if you have -1 astigmatism:
So many people with astigmatism are currently flabbergasted about this realization:
Because they’ve only ever known these ~magical~ lights:
And it is a view that lasts beyond Christmas:
However, even though it may sound fun…
It really seems like it can be a pain:
So, this holiday season, if you don’t have astigmatism, just know some people are seeing Christmas trees like this:
If you have eye astigmatism, let us know all about it in the comments!