聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 In my second year of university, I was arranged to share a dorm with a student with a penchant for photography. She also, unfortunately, had a penchant of leaving used Band-Aids in the shower and marching around singing to herself at four in the morning, but I digress. The important thing was that she enjoyed photography. Usually, she took self-portraits and photos of the scenery around school. One day, however, she turned the camera towards me.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 She actually made me think she was taking a picture of something else, and distracted me by making a few jokes. Once she told one that actually made me laugh, she snapped a picture of me smiling naturally, and apparently enjoyed the shot so much she posted it on social media.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 When we were talking about it later, I, ever self-conscious, mentioned that I didn鈥檛 really smile often like I did in the photo she took of me. I stuck to closed-mouth smiles most of the time. Her demanding response was, 鈥淵ou should always smile like that! You have teeth most people would pay for!鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Well, she was right. I did pay for them. My parents actually paid for my dentist visits throughout childhood, but I think I paid in regards to the pain and ridicule I had to deal with.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I got braces my first year of high school. I remember my parents having a lot of dentist appointments with me when I was younger, though of course I don鈥檛 recall much about them besides the fact that my orthodontist had a GameCube in his waiting room and my parents muttered conversations with a specialist could easily be ignored for Sonic Heroes.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Perhaps if I had listened, I would have known that my teeth were terrible. The alignment of my jaw was completely out of whack, and I had a large underbite. I remember my mom watching me when I brushed my teeth, trying to ask me to bite down so my teeth were on top of each other instead of my bottom set jutting out. I couldn鈥檛 actually do it, or at least, it physically hurt to. My orthodontist recommended I get braces twice: once when I was about seven, the age I was at then, and then later as a teenager.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 My parents, 小蓝视频 economically sensitive, refused entirely. I was lucky that my mouth did mainly adjust on its own, and I was 14 before I had to actually get braces for a simple two-year span.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I know I was lucky, but even two years of life with braces was torture. The day I got my braces on for the first time was the day of a camping trip the family was making. I was going to finish up my dentist鈥檚 appointment before my family picked me up, grabbed something to eat, and started travelling to the campsite. Unfortunately for me, not only did I have to deal with the usual pain of having metal grates and wires bending your teeth into submission, but I also had a bit of plastic compound put on my bottom molars, to help force my teeth to sit properly. This had the nasty side effect of leaving me unable to completely close my teeth together. I was a sniveling disaster once I discovered I couldn鈥檛 even chew a French fry, and had to adjust my diet for a few days before I got used to eating again.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 After that, I think having braces was mainly a small burden. I missed popcorn a lot, but I didn鈥檛 chew a lot of gum, so I didn鈥檛 bemoan that loss. Getting my braces tightened offered the pro of getting to miss class for a while and the con of a few days of pain. And of course, the boys in my class used my 鈥榖raceface鈥� as an excuse to make fun of me, but they already teased me relentlessly, so that wasn鈥檛 an issue. It was torture when I went through it, but now I barely remember it, the only reminder 小蓝视频 the metal retainer glued to the back of my bottom teeth, a wire that鈥檒l be there for the rest of my life.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 No, the real pain was yet to come for me鈥� and yet to come for those of you who are interested in reading about my sorry escapades. I will have to share the story of how I had my wisdom teeth removed next week. I could say it鈥檚 because the experience was so harrowing that even the memories are too painful to bear, but really, I鈥檓 just hungry.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I think I鈥檒l make a toast to my teenage braces-burdened self and buy some popcorn.
