Why I Try

Today I didn't wear any makeup. I didn't blow-dry my hair. I've only brushed my teeth twice. It's nice every once in a while. The not trying.

My dear friend Erika sent me an e-mail recently. In it was the following paragraph, which struck me as incredibly wise and insightful:

The eye candy is a tad limited because there are not too many guys my age here, but still there are... You know how that is? Like there are but there aren't but there still are enough to make you want to at least brush your hair. I dunno, maybe brush your teeth too.

At first I gathered from this is that this sort of optimism is why, most days, I put at least some effort into appearing human and like a normal girl. You know. Pretty, or something.

But then, after a whole day of scratcy, unshaven legs, and flyaway, frizzy hair, I realized that trying makes me feel better. And I like that it means that I try for me, and not for anybody else. It's important to do stuff for other people, but I guess sometimes it's even more important to do stuff just for yourself.