How did you feel about yourself at sixteen?
At all of 115 pounds, with long brown hair and a closet full of miniskirts (hey, it was the 60s!), I felt hideously fat and ugly. I was painfully aware of every physical flaw and I can't think of one single time that I felt genuinely attractive. A friend told me once that I looked like Olivia Hussey (Juliet in Zefferelli's R&J) and I was flabbergasted. It certainly never occurred to me to believe her.
It seems that teenage girls today are playing in a whole new ballgame. The current style -- tight hiphugger jeans, short and skimpy tops -- looks attractive on a small minority of young women, but that doesn't seem to bother the rest of them in the least. They seem so much more relaxed and comfortable in their physical selves than we ever were, and not in the least concerned about third party commentary.
This afternoon I took my daughter prom shopping. Dress, shoes, jewelry -- all accomplished in less than three hours. All pink. She is going to look truly lovely, and I hope she knows it and enjoys every single second.
Walked: 3 miles on a warm spring evening.
3 comments:
I know what you mean--I was never happy with my weight/appearance, no matter how thin I was. I hope my daughter and nieces always feel good about themselves, not bc of the way they look, but bc of who they are. If your daughter has made it to prom age and feels good about herself, she's got it made (and you did something right).
I also remember feeling very uncomfortable in my skin at 16. I was tall and big and felt very out of place. That wasn't helped by the fact that we had moved that year and I knew no one in my high school, which was now in a small town where everyone else had grown up together.
What a great memory you have made for yourself and your daughter shopping for the prom dress. I can't wait to hear about her prom night. I am looking forward (with trepidation) to doing this with my own girls.
I can't wait to hear how the prom goes! How do you think your daughter feels about her body at this age?
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