Your 40 Year Old School Portrait

Everyone says once you turn 40, you are more sure of yourself, less tolerant of bullshit, less worried about the way you look or what other people think.  I ‘ve never been overly concerned about any of those things (see this video and you will understand) but sometimes, yeah, I worry about the way I look.  Last weekend’s BlogHer conference, for instance.  I took great pains – shopped for just the right outfits and shoes, got my hair done, wore makeup.  I told myself it was so that I would look good in the 4,682 pictures that would likely be taken since I would be in a sea of shutterbug bloggers.  But the truth is, I wanted to look good.  Blogging is marketing.  I am my brand.  I can’t deny that, as much as I hate the idea.

At this very moment I’m sweating through shorts and a tank top.  My hair is frizzy and it’s time for an upper lip wax.  But I saw this photo yesterday and I am reminded that I clean up good, and I feel better knowing that.

The real value of this photo is the laughter you can see in my eyes.  (See it?  Right there.  The photographer said something funny.  I can’t even remember.  But I laughed, and I felt it.)  It doesn’t matter what grade you’re in, or how old you are.  Class photos are either a pain the ass, or stressful, or whatever.  But as long as the photographer can capture the joy inside you, the photo will be priceless.

And so it is fitting to tell you that today my first post for a new site has gone live.  The site is Girl Body Pride, a brave, bold collection of posts about women’s self-image.  “Just the way we are.”  My post is called “Pretty.”

Pretty || Girl Body Pride 

Once upon a time everyone said I was smart, when all I wanted was for someone to call me “pretty.”  Now that people call me “pretty,” I’ve been wishing they would click through to my blog and read my words and think I’m smart.  What I’ve been doing here is missing the point.

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Thank you to Land’s End and Mom Trends for the school portrait.