Three Things Thursday: Appearances

I just got done walking laps around my house, looking for inspiration for a "Three Things Thursday" post. I have 3,600 posts on my blog(!) and it's very hard to come up with anything that I haven't already written about at least ten other times. I briefly thought of writing about my three favorite clothing transformations, but nixed that idea when I realized I'd just written about them in relatively recent posts.

That, however, led me to trying on a few items of clothing, and looking in the mirror gave me the inspiration I needed. Three things about my appearance that have been pretty much the same throughout my life and will probably never change.

1. I will never be a "girly-girl".

Growing up, I *always* wanted to be girly. I wanted to wear cute trendy clothes and make-up and jewelry and style my hair and paint my nails. When I started getting teased about my weight at around nine years old, I became the total opposite.

I didn't *feel* girly; I felt ugly. Instead of dressing how I wanted, I started dressing how I thought I was meant to be--baggy boyish clothes, hair a total mess, no make-up or anything like that. I'd given up on trying to be one of the "pretty girls". (This isn't a sob story, honest.)

Seriously, though... was there really any hope? BAHAHA, I can't believe I'm posting this photo:

That best friends necklace really makes a difference though!

A few times over the years, I felt inspired and tried to do the girly things. After losing weight, I bought lots of feminine clothes because I felt like I finally deserved to wear them. But it just didn't feel like ME. I felt uncomfortable and like I was trying to be someone I was not. I don't know if it was because I lost that desire to be girly or if I was never meant to be that way in the first place, but either way, I'm not her.

And now, I'm totally happy with that! My favorite clothes are jeans, hoodies, cotton socks, and a pair of Chucks. On the very rare occasion that I put on a dress, I feel extremely uncomfortable--physically and mentally--and it feels like it just doesn't belong on me. I try not to dress like a slob, but I definitely choose comfort over anything else.

2. I will probably never go to the salon.

I literally can't remember the last time I had my hair cut professionally. It might have been in 2010 when Jeanie treated me to a fun makeover after I'd lost 100 pounds. It may surprise people to know that I actually have naturally curly hair. If I scrunch it in my hands while it's wet, it'll dry curly. When I was a kid, I *hated* it. My mom said it was "like a bush", hahaha. It was so thick and curly and I wanted it to be thin and straight, like a lot of the "pretty girls" I knew.

A bush, she says. I just don't see it!

When my hair is short, it's impossible to keep it from curling while it dries; and since I can't pull it back into a ponytail or (my favorite) a messy bun, and then the curls just get in my way. I can't stand having hair in my face! So, I've had long hair for just about my entire adult life. It's more practical for me.

My hair routine is super simple. I cut it myself about twice a year (keeping it long, but getting rid of split ends). Since I started getting grays, I dye it every so often (definitely not frequently enough, because my grays are pretty obvious much of the time). And I wear a messy bun 99% of the time. It takes all of five seconds and it keeps my hair out of my face.

3. I will likely never be a regular make-up wearer.

I only wear make-up a handful of times each year, usually if I'm going to see someone I haven't seen in a while or if I'm going to be meeting new people. And honestly, make-up is something I wish I was into! My skin is kind of a mess--I have vitiligo (patches of skin without any pigment) and sunspots (which are a big contrast to the vitiligo spots). The vitiligo around my eyes gives me a raccoon look, only in reverse:

I am STUNNED when I see the amazing things people can do with make-up! I don't aspire to be anywhere near that level, but it would be nice to at least even out the color of my skin. I didn't take care of my skin at all when I was younger and it's something I really regret now. When I *do* wear make-up, though, I keep it super simple.

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Some people may read this post and think I don't care at all about my appearance. That's not entirely true; I just prefer to be low-maintenance, mainly because I don't have the attention span to take so much time with my appearance.

I have good hygiene and I wear clothes that I'm comfortable in. I'm just a very practical person, I guess. Sometimes I think it would be fun to do all the girly things; but I would surely sweat through my make-up, chip my nail polish within a few hours, get blisters from uncomfortable shoes, and my hair would be a frizzy tangled mess by noon!

So, this is me... jeans, hoodie, Chucks, messy bun, sans make-up. It works for now :)