Scene from an 8th grade homeroom at the end of the school day, with only a few remaining students waiting to hear their bus numbers announced on the intercom.
The female homeroom teacher, up until that point tidying up around the room, pausing to sit with one of her 8th graders who sat with her head in her hands. Just musing and passing the time. And one of those ideal places to check in and connect with a student on a personal level.
The student began the conversation.
Ms, the student says wistfully, I’m sad because people keep on telling me that I look like I’m thirty.
Dirty?, the teacher responds, still distracted by the hundred and one things left remaining to do at the end of the day.
Noooo..., the girl wails with a mix of fake shock and an embarrassed smile. Thirty! People tell me that I look like I’m thirty!
No, the teacher says with as much motherly reassurance she can muster. You’re still beautiful. You’re not thirty. Don’t worry… you’re a beautiful blonde, she adds as a verbal salve. A well-intentioned compliment from one woman to another young one.
A pause in the conversation as the student works the idea in her head.
Um, I’m a red-head, she says with a sigh.
2 Comments
It is a deeply seeded desire of many women to be a red-head, so kudos to this young women for protecting what she knows she has.
Thanks for the laugh, James!
Would I be remiss in saying that this deeply seeded desire extends beyond that particular gender? Not from personal experience though. Of course. Ahem.