Miscommunication

"Your cousin is hosting a lunch next Wednesday, dress nice." my mom says on the phone. As the date gets closer I begin to realize I may not be able to make it to the lunch, but it's just a lunch right? I don't get to see my cousin very often so I decide to make time to see him, and I clear out my schedule. It's Wednesday and I remember my mom telling me to dress nice, but I didn't really want to dress up so I put on a park of navy blue slacks,  a white blouse, and a black blazer. As I get to the restaurant the host asks me if I was here for the wedding party. Confused, I politely corrected him and just asked him where the rest of the party was seated. He took me to the back of the restaurant, into a secluded room. As I walk in, the first thing I see is my cousin in a suit, sitting next to a women dressed in white. A white wedding dress. This was my cousin's wedding reception, it was not an ordinary lunch. I walk up to my cousin and his new wife and congratulate them. I see my brother and the rest of my cousins and I sit next to them. Shocked, I asked my brother when they were engaged, and more importantly when they got married.  He tells me they were engaged a month ago and they got married today. I was not expecting to come to a wedding reception or else I would have dressed much nicer. I sat there, absorbing all of the news. I probably took me an hour to finally accept the fact that he was actually married. Of course I was happy for him. I was so embarrassed because it seemed like I was the only one who did not know this.

Yiyun Li

Something I always enjoyed as a child was Barbies. I liked them because I could customize their hair, clothes, and shoes. I didn't have nice things growing up, so playing with Barbies that had a bunch of clothes was the next best thing. I also loved their blonde hair, blue eyes, and slim body. I would sit in my room for hours pretending to talk to my Barbies. I liked to use my imagination and come up with different life scenarios that I always dreamed about. I think playing with Barbies was my escape. I could be anything I wanted and I could do whatever I wanted to. However, I realize that Barbies are not as great as I thought they were. Barbies give young girls unrealistic perceptions of body image. At a young age, girls subconsciously idolize Barbies. Barbies are typically light skinned, blonde hair, blue eyed women with extremely thin waists. This body image does not help young girls improve their self confidence and I know as a kid I struggled with self confidence.