THE BACKSTORY

Never in my 15 years of existence have I ever particularly liked the color pink. I don’t own anything in that ghastly shade, and I don’t even like talking about it. I’m not horribly against it, but just seeing that red and white mixture makes me shake my head. However, October is Breast cancer awareness month, and I’m ready to get my pink on.

AND THEN

I’m sure most girls wouldn’t have a problem with going full out pink for a day, but not only did I dress up, I also consumed pinkish foods. Normally I’m not a huge fan of pink foods, but foods like salmon, cotton candy, strawberries , and pink lemonade were my diet on the chosen day.

I started out the day by picking out my bright outfit. I chose a pair of neon pink shorts that were buried in the back of my closet,  a pink Hollister hoodie from the 6th grade and to finish, an old pair of my mom’s pink sandals. To accessorize, I borrowed my sister’s jingly pink charm bracelet and a sparkly headband.

I walked downstairs to meet my family who were gathered around  the kitchen table. Everyone was holding in their laughs, while I stared down at my breakfast. My mother prepared for me a strawberry waffle with strawberry cream cheese. How lovely. My brother, on the other hand, was still laughing loudly and exclaimed that I looked like a tacky six year old. This was going to be a longer day than I thought it would be.

On Saturdays, my mom usually goes grocery shopping, and today she decided it would great if I could come to assist her. Did she even see what I was wearing? I looked like a complete idiot, yet she had no problem exposing me. After some convincing, I begrudgingly entered the car and braced myself for the public’s scrutiny.

Costco was my mother’s choice of destination. When we got there, I wasn’t surprised to see swarms of people exiting and entering. I stepped out of the car, and the first person I saw was an elderly man who looked jolted from his sleepy expression when he saw me. I got a myriad of strange stares from a variety of people, as they examined my senseless outfit. That wasn’t the biggest thing that was bothering me though. Lunchtime at Costco is the prime time for food samples, and not being able to try them was a huge disappointment. I walked longingly, avoiding the samples, as my mom decided she would try them all. TheY didn’t have any pink foods, but throughout the whole ordeal I kept cool.

People just walking by would comment on my choice of clothing, and one particular lady even told me that I looked cute as a button. When I told her it was for  journalism/breast cancer, she didn’t seem to understand how a tasteless six year old outfit would support breast cancer. I didn’t understand it either, but an incident that really got on my nerves was when a bunch prepubescent boys started snickering rudely in front of me and called my get up some very crude names. At least we were finally getting out of this putrid shopping center.

When I got home, I was ravenous and started pulling out all the available pink foods I could find. I set out a plate of strawberries and pink animal crackers, and munched on them while watching tv.

THE VERDICT

I didn’t go out again that day, I was over the idea of public embarrassment. But, I still ate pinkish foods and lounged in my getup the whole day. It really wasn’t as hard as i thought it would be, and though it was pretty doable, I’m definitely never doing it again.

by KRISTEN ELSAYEGH