Just do what makes you feel pretty

There we were, Zumba-ing the night away, when I noticed a woman next to Emily trying to pick up the steps and occasionally looking around for sympathy and support. Little did she know I’m a sucker for this kind of gym goer.

We consoled her, “We’re all just beginners here. You’ll get it.” She looked uneasy. I added, “Just do what makes you feel pretty.”

After another song, one we’d warned her about being extra tough, she turned to us and said, “You know, I really like that. Do what makes you feel pretty. That should be our motto. Our motto for life.”

The more I thought about it, the more I liked her idea. Almost everything I do is something that makes me feel pretty. I’m a good girl, obedient, and it makes me feel pretty. I was there at the gym dancing, and it made me feel pretty. When I tell someone else they look pretty, I can’t help but feel a little prettier myself.

I believe that when we are making good decisions, those decisions give us a strong sense of self and confidence. So by advising someone to “Just do what makes you feel pretty,” it’s really just a clever way of telling someone to do the right thing.

So go do what makes you feel pretty.


Fun with English

When you have a mother, and that mother is an English teacher, you're in for worlds of fun. Oh, right, 'fun' is what led to the vocabulary fest I just had with her.

The young women in our ward were quoted in our ward newsletter on how they felt about a recent activity. We highlighted the amount it said fun. In it's varied sentences, they always ended in fun. Gotta hand it to 'em, it sounded like fun. 

Well, as this had sufficiently rotten either our brains or our naturally amiable temperaments, we decided to toss out as many alternatives as we could. "A blast" "Exhilarating time had by all" "Barrels of laughs" "Leaps above just being noteworthy" "The antithesis of being abysmal." Solid choices. 

It's like that saying all roads lead to Rome  (an English teacher probably taught you it once). All words can lead to communication, but which words will dance when they get there?


Boys like dumb girls

I know this is a stroke of genius short of being original from my last post, but I think I’ve narrowed down the biggest part of my frustration with this matter. It’s just that… it’s so unfair… BOYS LIKE DUMB GIRLS.

I’m having the hardest time wrapping my mind around it. Find me a boy who can teach me a thing or two or engage me in enlightening conversation, and well, I’ve got stars in my eyes. But it seems a quick wit can’t compete with a girl who flips her hair saying, “OMG! I looooove football!” 

I've heard a handful too many girls state they always forget to vote like it's something to be proud of. And I've heard one too many say they just voted for whomever their friends liked. (Actually, they didn't say whomever...) Call me crazy, but I think it's drop dead sexy to study out the candidates and vote on your best conscience. 

Maybe evolution has something to do with it? Men need to be bright to outsmart the rest of this crazy race to provide for their families. Women just need to get by.

Yeah, that couldn’t be more false. I overheard my coworkers talking about how to get their kids to eat healthy foods, and I tell you, they are geniuses. So what is it? Is it that boys like dumb girls but men marry smart ones? I’d like to hope this is true.

But for the time being, I choose the high road. I will not negotiate knocking down my I.Q. based on the jaw line of the fellow I’m chatting with. I may be a hair flip and a high-pitched giggle away from my next flirty text message, but I’m a New York Times and a wry smile closer to dignity.


Learning from Ms. Hepburn

If I could increase just two things in this world, just two, it would first be love and then be class. 

The reason we need more love is no mystery. It's nothing new or novel. I adore everything about the word, and that's that.

And I guess it could be said making a clarion call for class isn't original either. But it's my personal plea to the universe that we as people, especially ladies, learn from women like Audrey Hepburn and not Tila Tequila.


Audrey was known for her "anti diva" behavior. She never treated anyone like they were inferior to her. It's appalling how women pride themselves on being said "divas," and we won't even get into "princesses." A more interesting idea to toy with, is that being kind and gracious gives you more power.  No scandal, no rumor, no backstabbing can undermine elegance because you live above it.

I'd love to see a world where tramp stamps were traded for pearls, uncouth language was traded for a real vocabulary and sex scandals were traded for quiet acts of kindness. What an altogether more pleasant world this would be. And wouldn't it be just beautiful...

Well, I'm positively obsessed with class. Since I was young I've wanted only a few things, and I've wanted them more than anything. I want to be the best wife someday. I want to be the best mother someday. And three things I want to be before I shuffle off this mortal coil is to be graceful, elegant and classy. But it's all a work in  progress.