Not That Kind of Girl

Tonight was the ASB Annual Night of Beauty and Love (more commonly referred to as THE BANQUET).

I didn't go.

I never had any intentions of going to THE BANQUET. I didn't particularly care for them in high school, and I haven't been to one in college. While, like any girl, I fancy a good dressing-up every so often, elaborate dinners aren't my ideal evening. I'm more of a coffee-at-the-Mill sort of girl.

Tonight I walked onto my hall to find it had been transformed into the Realm of Fairy Princess-Making. It was 4:30, and there were dolled-up girls everywhere. Satin and hairspray ruled the day. Girls were running around in their dresses and curls, mothers (mothers) following with blow-driers and safety pins. (The banquet, mind you, didn't begin until 6:30.)

I came to the conclusion that I'm either utterly un-romantic, or terribly old. I just don't take a shine to these sorts of things. But a little part of me, for the first time really, felt left out of the getting ready and banqueting. Was there something wrong with me? Am I less of a feminine woman because I'm not agonizing over nail polish colors or which shoes to wear? Is this maybe part of why I'm alone on banquet night--I'm not that kind of girl?

Instead of going to the banquet, Angela, Ben, Kristina, and I went to the Lied Center to see a play called This Unsafe Star. It was the story of Emmett Till, a young black boy from Chicago in the 1950s, who was lynched for whistling at a white woman while visiting Mississippi. The two white men who murdered him were never convicted, although they admitted to their crime four years later. The play was mostly about Emmett's life, and that of his mother, who devoted hers to telling his story after his death. She wanted to make sure that the death of her son helped people to see that lynching, segregation, and racism in America had to stop. (You should definitely Google Emmett Till to learn more about his story.)

The play was exceptionally well-done, especially as it was written by a Lincoln High teacher and performed entirely by high school students. It was moving and incredibly well-acted and -written. It was the most heart-felt standing ovation I've ever given--I felt compelled to stand to my feet from emotion and sheer appreciation of the story told and the manner in which it was portrayed.

Coming back into the dorm tonight amongst girls in pretty dresses with their pretty hair and bouquets of pretty flowers, I still felt a little bit like I've missed the boat. But at the same time, I'm proud that I'm not that kind of girl. I feel as though I did something intelligent and uplifting tonight, that supported my community and my own sense of the world and things that matter. I was moved. I laughed. We had yummy Noodles and Company afterward.I spent time with people I care deeply for, learning about our past while supporting our future. It felt like an intelligent and good thing to do.

So I think I'm pretty much okay with not being that kind of girl.