Coated In Awkwardsauce

For those of you who didn’t grow up with me, you should know that I wasn’t glamorous, stylish, or a coordinating-outfit kind of girl.  Heck, I’ve never been glamorous, stylish or coordinating in any capacity.  I was recently chatting with friends about the awkwardness of middle school and high school, and it got me thinking about owning up to my roots.

Do you remember the days leading up to Picture Day at school?  In grade school, I put on the recommended formal outfit, and didn’t put too much thought into what I was wearing or how to do my hair.

But for my Freshman year, I wanted to be cool.  Not wanting formal, dress-up clothing, I wanted to wear what was in style, do my hair following the latest fad, and have the most gloriously awesome photo EVER.

So this is what happened:

Maggie, Freshman Year

Obviously, I didn’t quite pull off the awesomeness that I was hoping for, and instead was covered in some good ol’ fashioned Awkwardsauce.  As I debated what outfit to wear, I thought:  Hawaiian shirts are cool, choker necklaces are cool, wearing several necklaces at once is cool, pigtail buns are cool, and braces are, well, just part of the deal.

After getting the prints, I realized what a fool I’d been and had a retake session when given the opportunity.  Yet, as fate would have it, whoever was in charge of the yearbook design opted to use my Awkwardsauce Photo, and there it resides, forever encased in yearbook history.

So instead of being absolutely humiliated – as I was when I received my copy of the yearbook and was horrified to discover they had used the wrong photo – I now am just accepting that I was awkward and had a poor sense of style.  What ended up being most important was that I had a great group of friends who grew up with me.  I wouldn’t trade any of my awkward moments away because  I have way too many great memories with those fantastic friends.

And why not continue the awkwardness, and share one more photo?

Band, Sophomore Year

No one looks good in a band uniform, but I loved being in band. Loved the music, friends, and had the world’s best director.  As cliché as it sounds, I learned about teamwork, (healthy) competition, how to pester brass players, and the camaraderie that comes with being a band geek.

A big high school reunion is coming up this year, and it makes me think back on my younger self.  And as I see my own child growing up before my eyes, I can only hope that he’ll have the right blend of good friends, a little awkwardness, and takes his time growing up.  Though adulthood brings on many great things – responsibility, independence, learning more about yourself, growing wiser, and marriage, and parenthood for some –  it’s still a good idea to take your time growing up.

Any of you got a few photos soaked in Awkwardsauce?

~M