Going up in Maine, I frequented the beach, trying to soak up as much sun as I could. However unhealthy, I would also lay out on my family's back desk for hours, listening to music and reading novels. One summer in high school, I also became obsessed with all over head braids (similar to the ones you get while vacationing in the Carribean or other places of paradise). That's when someone at the beach called me "Bo Derek." Thinking this was a boy's name or some sort of insult, I went home feeling hurt with a bruised ego, as I'm sure anyone who survived adolescence can relate to. After asking my parents who Bo Derek was, I began to feel better, not to mention embarrassed for having thought a compliment was most certainly an attack on my outward appearance.
Not only did this beach incident make me think a little more about comments people made and how I reacted, it opened my mind to be inspired by more 60's style icons to whom I could relate. If I could go back to any time period, it would definitely be the 60's so that I could be a beachy sex symbol (with brains and talent no less), or at least pretend to be. Alas, time travel is not an option, so I will live my time in the present like it is the past. (Even going so far as to moving to California to try out being a beach beauty there). Wanderlust once again roamed me on a new path away from the beach, but I hope to bring a bit of beach style to Vermont.
This summer, I will once again channel my favorite style sisters from another time in the green mountain state. Who is my ultimate favorite? Brigitte Bardot wins the medal for being stylish, sexy, cute, and the image of beach blonde perfection. Not to mention she was an animal rights activist like myself. Beauty and brains will always be a winner...that I can relate to. My belief, if you've got it, flaunt it (in a respectable way) and know what makes you happy. Hey, if a tan and sun-kissed hair makes me happy, so be it. Thank you Bo Derek and Brigitte Bardot for showing me that it's ok. Even if they had never existed and the "beachy" look was never highlighted so much as a sign of beauty and sex-appeal, I would probably still be the golden glow, blonde hair enthusiast I am today, but with a little less to relate to.