I Am 22, Going On 23 (Part 1 of 3)
Part 1
“How old will you be next year?” My aunty suddenly asked me out of the blue last week. Having watched me grow and yet see me looking pretty much the same, she had lost track of my age. I said “22”, but my sister corrected me – 23. Phew! Twenty- three! There is so much that I plan to achieve before a certain age and I haven’t even started. I have yet to find a permanent job to start with. I don’t feel age catching up at all, living in with family and seeing the same people at church every week and when everything is so familiar.
“Why are you so small sized and skinny? Look at you! Do you look like your age at all? Look at your cousin. She’s just a year older than you… I saw her clad in tight jeans, she looks her age, more fleshy…with make-up and all…”and some people can go on and on… Surprisingly, I don’t get upset or frustrated by these kinds of comparisons these days. I am attempting to eat more and do what I can, but some things are just beyond me. (To take it positively, I’m blessed with young looks, he he! Maybe they’ll appreciate it if they have it later years!) I just smile and reply, “Well, this is me and that is her:P.”
Lately, there has been an outbreak of pimples on my forehead that earned me the embarrassing nickname- ‘pimple face’- by a few. I just ate a little bit more chocolates and cookies than usual in conjunction with the festival season, and I got up a few days later to find those dreadful zits! In the past, a maximum of 5 pimples emerged at a time, with a similar diet, and they disappeared very fast. This time round, more than 10 appeared at a go (my sister did the counting!). When I went to church, 2 little girls, a teenage girl, an aunty, and a guy a few years older than me, all asked me what happened to my face!
Trust me, I am doing my best to keep those zits under control – face masks, lots of water, controlled diet etc… but I guess my hormones were just raging against me:( The guy older than me however ‘enlightened’ me about a very funny superstition. He asked me “Who’s the guy who caused these pimples? Tell me now. He must be thinking of you so much, that’s why those pimples appear on your face! Or are you in love? (I was thinking, whoever it was who created that superstition must have been trying to console him or her own self, ha ha!)
Truly, when it comes to work or studies (when perfection is achievable to a large extent, ceteris paribus), I can endeavor to achieve perfection…but when things are just beyond my control, they got me really frustrated initially. I am most definitely imperfect physically, but I do try my best to look clean, fresh, nice and presentable. I was very much bothered by things like this at first, but I have learned to just let go. Thus, I have come up with a new philosophy; I don’t have to be perfect when perfection is beyond my control. This philosophy has helped me cope better.
While there are a few who are quick to give me nicknames when they see my ‘imperfect points’, there are others who have helped me to be happy being myself. A couple of months back, there was another outbreak of pimples on face. I don’t usually apply cosmetics on my face (except on some special occasions – and colored lip balm always) but I began using them more regularly in my attempt to make those hideous bumps less noticeable. One of my good guy friends from church came over and asked me,” Why are you putting such things on your face?” and I replied that I was trying to cover those pimples. I was surprised by his words, “Why can’t you just be natural like before? It’s not like you can’t see the zits with the make-up…You look just fine…better without it…” Another older guy also commented similarly. I always thought it was the guys who had high expectations for girls to look perfect, but his words shed light that there are people who do not despise the ‘natural’ look. Now, I’m not so conscious about these inevitable things that come and go, and am happy being me.
“How old will you be next year?” My aunty suddenly asked me out of the blue last week. Having watched me grow and yet see me looking pretty much the same, she had lost track of my age. I said “22”, but my sister corrected me – 23. Phew! Twenty- three! There is so much that I plan to achieve before a certain age and I haven’t even started. I have yet to find a permanent job to start with. I don’t feel age catching up at all, living in with family and seeing the same people at church every week and when everything is so familiar.
“Why are you so small sized and skinny? Look at you! Do you look like your age at all? Look at your cousin. She’s just a year older than you… I saw her clad in tight jeans, she looks her age, more fleshy…with make-up and all…”and some people can go on and on… Surprisingly, I don’t get upset or frustrated by these kinds of comparisons these days. I am attempting to eat more and do what I can, but some things are just beyond me. (To take it positively, I’m blessed with young looks, he he! Maybe they’ll appreciate it if they have it later years!) I just smile and reply, “Well, this is me and that is her:P.”
Lately, there has been an outbreak of pimples on my forehead that earned me the embarrassing nickname- ‘pimple face’- by a few. I just ate a little bit more chocolates and cookies than usual in conjunction with the festival season, and I got up a few days later to find those dreadful zits! In the past, a maximum of 5 pimples emerged at a time, with a similar diet, and they disappeared very fast. This time round, more than 10 appeared at a go (my sister did the counting!). When I went to church, 2 little girls, a teenage girl, an aunty, and a guy a few years older than me, all asked me what happened to my face!
Trust me, I am doing my best to keep those zits under control – face masks, lots of water, controlled diet etc… but I guess my hormones were just raging against me:( The guy older than me however ‘enlightened’ me about a very funny superstition. He asked me “Who’s the guy who caused these pimples? Tell me now. He must be thinking of you so much, that’s why those pimples appear on your face! Or are you in love? (I was thinking, whoever it was who created that superstition must have been trying to console him or her own self, ha ha!)
Truly, when it comes to work or studies (when perfection is achievable to a large extent, ceteris paribus), I can endeavor to achieve perfection…but when things are just beyond my control, they got me really frustrated initially. I am most definitely imperfect physically, but I do try my best to look clean, fresh, nice and presentable. I was very much bothered by things like this at first, but I have learned to just let go. Thus, I have come up with a new philosophy; I don’t have to be perfect when perfection is beyond my control. This philosophy has helped me cope better.
While there are a few who are quick to give me nicknames when they see my ‘imperfect points’, there are others who have helped me to be happy being myself. A couple of months back, there was another outbreak of pimples on face. I don’t usually apply cosmetics on my face (except on some special occasions – and colored lip balm always) but I began using them more regularly in my attempt to make those hideous bumps less noticeable. One of my good guy friends from church came over and asked me,” Why are you putting such things on your face?” and I replied that I was trying to cover those pimples. I was surprised by his words, “Why can’t you just be natural like before? It’s not like you can’t see the zits with the make-up…You look just fine…better without it…” Another older guy also commented similarly. I always thought it was the guys who had high expectations for girls to look perfect, but his words shed light that there are people who do not despise the ‘natural’ look. Now, I’m not so conscious about these inevitable things that come and go, and am happy being me.
posted by JJ at 9:03 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home