freckles and scars and lisps, oh my!
Once upon a time, I took a virtual trip to glean a few secrets from expert beauticians. Yes, I went to a beauty/makeup message board. I’m all thumbs with makeup and have always preferred to not have a bunch of foreign dust on my face. It’s a personal choice, ya’ll. Anyway, I asked these girls about the freckle pencil Lancome had made at the time and whether they thought it worked well and looked natural.
By golly, all hell broke loose after that innocent little post. They attacked me like fierce baby sharks out for blood, er…mascara. The comments looked a bit like this: “What is wrong with you? Why would you WANT freckles?!” “I have freckles and believe me, you DON’T want them.” “Freckles are awful, I spend all my time trying to cover mine up.” “Is this a bleepety-bleeping joke?! If it is, it’s NOT funny!” I limped away from that board without responding and resolved to get my damn freckle stick and free-hand it!
I’m disturbed by this obliteration of quirk. There’s a mass attack on rare, special, and interesting characteristics and I do not like it, quirky-I-am! Whatever happened to CELEBRATING our differences, for these are what make us unique?! Well, I’m celebrating today. I give you a small list of some of the “quirks” I love…
Work Your Quirk:
1. Freckles. they are so damned cute and i WILL pencil mine in if i freaking want to!
2. Scars. guaranteed, there’s an interesting story behind each and every one. a record of mischief, pain, accidental spills.
3. Lisps. these pique my cochlea. sort of like listening to the whisper of the ocean.
4. Retainers. yup, something hot about a retainer. it looks so youthful. and it causes a slight lisp. there was once a hot boy i knew in high school who had a retainer. the retainer made him hotter.
5. Phobias. because you’re human. and this makes you more so. and i love that spiders make you scream and you can’t even get close to hospitals. b/c i have my own neuroses and we can share.
In yoga, being the microcosm that it is, our quirks are amplified. Your makeup can’t hide your beautiful freckles (that I so envy!) anymore, thanks to heat and sweat. The scar reminding you of an accident in a past life is now visible when you’re half-naked. I want to ask you about it, even though it might be improper, because I want to know things about you. Perhaps we are long lost friends about to be reunited over a shared fear of toenail clippings (especially the blue ones, oh gawd, the BLUE ones!).
All I’m saying is, I love your quirks and I’m not going to hide mine. I will be celebrating both of ours — champagne anyone? — and look forward to seeing you at the party.
photo credit: tinatarnoff.typepad.com
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soothsayer. illusion slayer. intj/mastermind. writer + artist + strategist + innovator. california born, city of angels bred. gypset world traveler. la face with an oakland booty. queen of the jungle who doesn't lose sleep over the opinions of sheep.
Hooray for quirks! Our collection of quirks and experience are part of what makes us the unique individual we are :)
I am the queen of freckles! I have them all over my body and I LOVE them! They are my natural tattoos. I don’t look at them as being different – I believe they make me unique and rare or dare I say – special.
Those beyatches on the blog are just jealous of people that have freckles!
I am toasting you with a big glass of champagne right now – thanks for sticking up for us freckle faced quirky (and cool) people!
OMG, cover up those weird spots or get a chemical peel for God’s sake! Remember to get braces, a spray tan, and eyelash extensions, too, SO WE CAN ALL LOOK THE SAME! [j to the k]. We are all works of art. Individual, unique, yet eerily the same. I have a crooked tooth that was my arch nemesis for years – drove me nuts. Now we’re friends. A toast to quirks! [and phobia of blue toenails]
Quirks rock. Scars rock, I have a few. Got a few freckles too. I’m not a big fan of riding in the back seat of cars, call it claustrophobia.
I’ve never been one to fit in the cookie cutter and I encourage everyone else not to too ♥
Yay for uniqueness!
Had a lisp as a kid (no longer, alas!) and still get questions about the long slash mark on my thigh (frizbee + barbed wire fence = Oy.).
But as my mom said about the small mole on her heel, “You can use it to identify me if I’m ever decapitated.” Whee!
I LOVED having a retainer.. don’t know why but I always thought it made my teeth look awesome.
Thank heavens for quirks b/c we all have tons of them! I never wear makeup to hide mine (although probably should some days) and think it’s awesome to rock your bad self.
Quirks are what make you, well… you. LOVE!
Yay for freckles (first I had a little, then I had a lot!). I definitely don’t despise them!
Also full of quirks, and I have at least seven visible scars on various parts of my body. Some I’ve had from childhood, some from being completely stupid and others from illness/surgery. Yeah!!
I have freckles… When I’m in the sun too long my nose gets freckled and red… My left arm has a scar on my shoulder, elbow and wrist from when I fell off my skateboard (I was 25 and you don’t bounce back like you do at 10)… A lady asked me just yesterday ‘why don’t you get that scar covered up? It just stands out more in the sun.’
I smiled at her and just told her ‘eh, why? It’s like removing a memory just because it’s bad. Besides it looks great when I wear strapless dresses!’
We aren’t perfect and more importantly we don’t need to be. Our bodies are vehicles to use in this life, bumps, bruises, and scars just show that we have done things in this life.
Thank you for posting this! I love what makes us different, because really we have so much in common already, why do we need to all look the same too?
Big hugs!
My partner is a black dude who has freckles. I think they are adorable and awesome.
I agree with pretty much everything you say here, except….
Please don’t ask me about my scars, at least not right away. They are self-inflicted, and I find it really awkward to have random strangers comment on them.
I always wanted freckles but I never had any. I have plenty of scars but that is because I have bumped into a lot of things.
Love those quirks! Freckles rock, stretch marks – not so much, but I deal. Who wants to look like a mannequin? Oh yeah, most people, I forgot.
Aah I can’t believe that happened to you on a message board! So funny.
I have plenty of quirks (TERRIFIED of spiders) and for the most part, love them, although I suppose I’m still getting used to the physical ones. Like the fact that some of my teeth are yellow :(
When I was in grade school, I wanted freckles too because my friend had them and she was the only one who had them in our class. She was the cutest ever. When I got older and Cindy Crawford was the face of beauty with her big beauty mark on her face, I was proudly wearing my big beauty mark that’s on my neck :) I often wonder how some of the women survive my heated class with makeup an inch thick.
Dude. Yet another thing we have in common. I have to say, back in the 6-8th grades, I had some serious headgear. Not just braces…full on headgear. Also, pink rubber bands on the braces to match the button on my backpack that read: “flower power.”
I love freckles, i have the on my chest, back, neck and tummy, they are light and cute, also some birthmarks.. I have a toned body and get a pretty tan, boys tell me can i count them, haha…