my extremely buttoned down parents were very preoccupied with the idea that I would end up uncouth and unladylike when I was 16 (it was the heyday of the demonic and cursed reality show ‘what not to wear’). They sent me to a local short course on ‘etiquette’ that spring in the hopes it would be the full blown makeover I so sorely needed. I blew it off and went and hung out at the skate park instead, where I ran into a chaotic red haired boy I vaguely knew through friends and we made out frantically at various landmarks for the next 3 days until the course was over and he ghosted me.
I stan my 16 year old self for being so wilfully disobedient and unwavering in her self-concept. I still have a bit of a thing for redheads