Motivational Monday! Legendary author Jack Kerouac , born on this day in 1922, once said "Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion." What do you think...is this true? And at what point did you stop caring about something being trendy or popular and just started to fully enjoy it solely because you liked it?
No one would ever make the mistake of referring to me as trendy. All of my life I've been a t-shirt and jeans kind of gal. It's comfortable, inexpensive, and wash and wear. I don't "get" the latest fads, who made what, who is wearing what, who is promoting what. Names and labels are meaningless. I don't recall ever swooning, or pining over an item of clothing. If I wasn't wearing off the rack apparel, I wore outfits sewn by my Nanny. I remember she created matching ponchos for my younger sister and I. I believe this cape-like garment was a fashion fad made popular by the Brady Bunch girls. (Oh boy am I really dating myself here!) My poncho was a lovely turquoise, and I liked it because it was a gift. I don't believe I'd ever voiced a concern/demand that I'd die without one. It merely served a purpose as did my other jackets. For a kid, it was super easy to pull it over my head. There were no zippers, or buttons to struggle with. Since I've already revealed the decade of my childhood, I can also admit that this same grandmother sewed mini skirts for me as was the trend at the time. More than once, I heard her describe these good ol' days when she could cover my tushy in a tiny swath of cloth, remnants actually. I just went with the flow, and the offer of free clothing. Now I'm remembering something long suppressed. To my mother's disappointment, my hair insisted upon being long and straight. For my kindergarten debut, she decided I should have curly hair as was the haute coiffure of the time. To save money, Mom herself curled my stubborn tresses with a home perm. She'd had to admit defeat with more traditional hair-curling methods such as rollers/curlers. ( Oh, those pullers of hair would make an effective torture device! It's impossible to sleep with those things stabbing into your skull.) I cannot believe that my own parent thought I looked "cute" with what appeared to be a large, bushy Afro. My hair and I had the last laugh because even those perming chemicals only managed to curl my hair for a few days. I have always preferred my hair loose and undressed. I wonder why? I seem to have been a child victim of trends. Well, there is one fad that I adopted and continue to follow today. I like to wear toe socks, you know, socks that look like gloves for feet. Each toe is separated and has its own cover. Granted they take a bit more finessing and tugging to pull them on, and nobody I know has the gigantic baby toe manufactured for a pair, but I wear them. In fact, my entire sock wardrobe consists of bright colours, patterns, cartoon characters, and holiday themes. If I must sport foot cover because I choose to live in a cold climate, than it should be fun. |