Saturday, September 8, 2018

Hair Raising Writing Skill--By Kimberly Sabatini

I think finding just one embarrassing teenage moment is rather challenging. The teenage years tend to be fraught with weird trends, snafus, and dumb choices. I wasn't that adventurous of a kid and I'm still finding it hard to narrow it down. So, I thought I'd focus on an embarrassing thing that still makes me cringe every time I take a walk down memory lane.

It's hard to get past the hair.

Really hard.

I was born with a natural side part and thick hair with a lot of body, which I eventually learned makes me pretty blessed in the hair department. (Unless its crazy humid and I look like a tumbleweed.) And yet, for a large portion of my teen years, I permed my hair and tried to part it down the middle. I then tried to blow out those curls I'd artificially put in, and feather the sides so I would look just like this...

I NEVER looked like this. 

And even if my hair had been suited to this style, I didn't have the patience or the skill to make it happen. So now, when I look back at my illustrious teenage years, I cringe and wonder what life would have been like if I'd had the wisdom to know what looked good on ME? 

But with time, I've come to think there would have been a downside to being so self-possessed at such a young age. Years later, maybe it wouldn't be quite so easy to remember and write what it feels like to be a teenager--the lengths one goes to in order to fit in. 

And in the end, perhaps it's not the details of the embarrassment that count the most, but the general feeling of horror that lingers long after the event that makes the writer. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.


  1. It's strange how the demands of fashion have us all dressing alike and styling our hair alike, rather than seeking what works for each of us. When perms were in, we all had to look like poodles even if that didn't flatter us; when straight hair was in, girls with gorgeous curly hair labored to iron those waves uniformly flat, whether that was their best look or not. And don't even get me started on how horrible I look in shoulder pads--but for years you couldn't find a shirt, jacket, or dress that didn't have them!

    1. Shoulder pads! They were everywhere! I agree, though--it takes a while to figure out the best fashion is the fashion that is flattering to US.

  2. It's funny how we're never satisfied with what we have. My hair was smooth and straight but I ruthlessly permed it. Today, it's prone to cowlicks and odd waves and now I keep trying to straighten it.

  3. You're adorable. You were then, and you are now. That being said, I wanted YOUR hair SOOO bad. Mine was poker straight and wouldn't do ANYTHING.