Like all girls, I became interested in wearing make-up at a very young age. I can remember standing in the bathroom with my mother every morning watching her every move and asking tons of questions. I think that is how I learned to put on make-up. No one ever really sat down and told me, “this is how you put on make-up.” It was just something you kind of picked up on your own.
I remember when I was in fifth grade, so I was probably ten or eleven; it was the “cool” thing to start wearing make-up. Some girls did and some girls didn’t. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. I had to start wearing make-up to fit in with my friends. I was grateful that my Mom and Dad would let me wear even a “little bit.” I never thought about the girls in my class that weren’t aloud.
There is a leader in every class that every girl looks up to and listens to. The girl in my class was, of coarse, beautiful and all of the girls did exactly what she said. Lets call her Megan. If Megan didn’t like you, no one else liked you either.
I can remember this quiet girl who didn’t talk to anyone, she just minded her own business. Lets call her Amy. Well, one day, Megan decides she wants to pick on someone. Guess who she picked, Amy. So every other girl in the class (including me) started picking on her and calling her names because she didn’t wear make-up. I felt horrible about it, but I didn’t have the nerve to stand up to Megan. So this continued through the years (not just about make-up) and eventually I think she moved or actually I really don’t remember what happened to Amy.
I remember feeling bad about what was going on and happening, but powerless to do anything. So what if I did stand up to Megan? She and every other girl would just make fun of me too. I certainly didn’t want that. All I wanted was to be like everyone else. But I always asked myself, why didn’t Amy try to fit in with all of the other girls? Maybe she just wanted to make a point.
My point is I wish I had stood up to Megan, not just for Amy, but for myself. No one should do things (like making fun of someone else) just to make another person happy. Now I feel that I am mature enough so that if I were put in the same situation again, I would do the right and responsible thing. I know I can’t change what happened, but if I could see Amy again, I would tell her how sorry I am for all of the horrible things my friends and myself did and said to her.
To me, my experience relates to A Wound in the Face because my friends and I made fun of someone else because they didn’t wear make-up. The author, Angela Carter, keeps repeating herself by saying red lipstick is like a bloody wound. I agree and feel that woman shouldn’t have to wear make-up to make themselves feel beautiful. I am not saying that I don’t like make-up because I wear it everyday, but you shouldn’t feel like it is an obligation like some women do. Being feminine doesn’t mean that you have to fix your hair, dress up, and wear make-up.