It’s good to wait for certain privliages that mark a certain maturity until you’re older. It makes those privilages mean more.
I waited for makeup until I think I was thirteen. I think that was a good thing. To this day, I do not value makeup as what makes someone pretty. A lot of times, I wish people would wear less makeup and let their faces shine through. Though, I admit, sometimes it makes me feel better about how I look, but I try to steer away from heavy makeup. I wear it heavy for being on stage, something I’ve gotten used to (after four years of recitals) but still don’t really enjoy.
My parents had me wait until I was sixteen to have my ears pierced. For me, it was made a growing up thing. I like it that way. It was no longer a peer pressure thing. I turned sixteen, and didn’t want to get my ears pierced right away. I waited about six months before I decided I wanted it. It was my choice, it was a sign of growing up, and it had nothing to do with anybody else having their ears pierced.
I like the tradition of the flower toss after a wedding. It’s a celebration of the union of the bride and groom by the young women expressing the desire to be married someday. I realize it’s a fun thing to do, but I like it where older girls are in it and not kids. Being in that group of young women is, at least in a way, a statement to the young men that says, “I’m of age. I can accept interest.”
It’s good to wait for grown up and mature things. I’m glad I did. I didn’t want to at the time, but those were the rules, and I followed them. (and I will continue to)
