A quick list of just a few of the comments my boys have made regarding my physical appearance. Thank God I'm not an extremely sensitive person.
"You look...unusual today."
"Are you sick? You look sick."
"Your boyfriend hit you? You got dem circles under yo eyes."
"I ain't even gonna lie, Ms. M you look high as #$%! right now."
"Why your hair all different colors like a cat?"
"You get that from the old-lady section at Citi Trendz?"
"How you gonna try an' act PRO-fessional in them wrankly pants, M?"
"How come you got shiny gold-y hairs all on your arms?"
Jemon: "You aren't thick, but you kinda got a nice shape to you, for a teacher. You shaped kinda like a Coke bottle."
"Oh. So I have a really tiny head and huge feet. Thank you, Jemon."
Those boys don't sugar-coat anything. They're as swift to tell you your blouse makes you look pregnant as they are to mention how "you be ROCKIN' that skirt today!!" I wish that when I was in middle school I had been able to take their opinions for what I now know them to be worth: ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
Stop. I have to confess. Yes, this was a mildly amusing list, but I feel like the real reason I wrote it was subconsciously in response to the only hateful comment I've ever received on my blog. It was posted a few weeks ago by an anonymous reader who criticized me as being "extremely vain." This struck me as strange for a couple of reasons. First of all, anyone who has ever been around middle-school boys knows that their attention has no real connect to your actual degree of attractiveness. You need only be female and breathing. Secondly, I'm fairly certain that my blog is a raw, truthful, sometimes highly-unflattering picture of my weaknesses as I attempt to teach these boys. The comment went on to suggest that I find better things to do than "sit around thinking about how cute I was," (and several other things too nasty to repeat) so I deleted it--along with my sisters' equally nasty rebuttals.
I honestly think I compiled the list above to convince you, dear reader, that I am indeed NOT. VAIN. In the least.
...Wait a minute... Did "Anonymous" just attest to the fact that complete strangers read about my life and are intrigued enough to typecast me as a certain (albeit repulsive) personality!? I'm going to go stare at myself in the mirror now.
I LOVE it...you are the LEAST vain person I know-always the first to laugh at yourself, and it absolutely the BEST quality!! Thank you for always being refreshing and dead-honest-I LOVE YOU!!
ReplyDeleteah, the cloak of anonymity strikes again.
ReplyDeleteobvi, that person was a coward and just trying to get a rise out of you. interesting they sling insults without allowing a complete rebuttal, aka attack, on their personal life and choices.
seriously, though. we must laugh at people like that. jealousy, after all, is the most unflattering and pathetic attribute.
they were probably taking a break from their boring life that isn't changing the world like you are. duh.