Monday, April 26, 2010

Death to the Wheaton girl

Who is the Wheaton girl?

She is nicely dressed. She is slim, a girl of careful meals and sanctified genes. She probably straightens her hair. She wakes up in time to shower and do her makeup every morning. Takes notes, but doesn't speak in class. She goes on missions trips. She'll be complete when she has a boyfriend. She attends church every Sunday in a pretty skirt and little heels. (She's the reason it's not permissible to wear pajamas to dining hall brunch on Sundays. So what if you just rolled out of bed? Facade, my friend, facade!) She's got nothing but stellar babysitting references. She goes to the gym x times a week and gets the tomorrow's reading done while she's on the elliptical. She's probably from the suburbs. She gets stressed, but it's always graceful and pretty.

Is she even real? Is there such a person? Probably not. But I'd still rather be a fat mutinous mess than be her!

Lately she's been giving me minor meltdowns at breakfast. So I scuttle back to my room instead of going to lecture with her and her gentlemanly, conversation-dominating, football-player poli-sci male counterparts/potential boyfriends.

Someday I shall have the confidence to define myself not in opposition to her, but independent of her. (True defiance.) Not overeating just because her dieting aggravates me, not skipping church to offend her, not muttering profanity just to dissociate myself from her.

And someday I'll accept that there is no one girl who has it all together and makes the rest of us grumble along in pursuit of her. That instead there are just twelve hundred of us who all feel like we don't measure up.

I'm working on it.

*(I do recognize that compared to the general population, I am neither fat nor that terrible of a mess.)

13 comments:

  1. A nod yes to that definition of true defiance.

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  2. Just hang out with the boys. *grin*

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  3. Yours posts are always confusing(in a good way) but hides a really good message:]

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  4. Erin - You want to pick up Jean Baudrillard someday for more of that.

    aipingplum - sighs, rolls eyes.

    Milli - Haha, thanks, I guess!

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  5. The first paragraph of this is so deliciously defiant - made me laugh, more than once (also, "sanctified genes"? WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT, BEST PHRASE EVER).

    I know your Wheaton girl, on her good days and bad days, and I'm part of your twelve hundred. Preach on, comrade!

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  6. I think I know her too. Good post.

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  7. Emma - Thank yoouu. And I love being called comrade.

    Debbie - Do you have an equivalent at BYU? It would not surprise me. (Thank you.)

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  8. ooh have you got a particular recommendation for me?

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  9. This is great. Somehow I got lucky that at college I didn't meet anyone of this sort, but there were plenty at school. Being part of the 1200 sounds great. Would you have me?

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  10. the funny thing to me (well, one of them) is that while we're all trying to measure up, this girl who is careful and put together in every part of her life is the standard so many choose.
    and for no other reason than to give the illusion of having it all together.

    thanks, holly, for decidedly standing outside of that box with me.

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  11. Hooray! I love this. I love the distinction between defining yourself in opposition to her and defining yourself just as yourself. You are a lot closer to that than I am, I think, and it's good to hear.
    You as yourself are so much better than this standard.

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  12. Yes. Yes, I know this girl. I have an excellent picture of her in my head. May the 1200 live in defiance! :)

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  13. Erin - Ah, shoot. I read Selected Writings and I don't even remember which selections within that I read. Some of it was too dense for me and some was deliciously dense and engaging. So...somewhere in there!

    Mixedblessings - By 1200, I meant the entire female population of my school. If we're going to extend it beyond my school, then I think we can say the membership is fairly default. ;)

    Allison - This is true. This is true. Personally I think honesty covers over a multitude of sins and if I can't be perfect (haha), then I'll try not to have any pretentions of having it together. and well...if it IS where you are standing, all the more reason!

    Every time it rains - Hmm, well it's certainly the task that's been set to me here! Ha. Thank you so much.

    Edge - No doubt you know her very well, as you are my fellow miss christian college!

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