In which the YA author showcases what’s strange and lovely about the teenage years.
Today I give you my seventh grade school photo. Um, it’s not a mullet, right? Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight? I’ve got at least an inch I could trim back on each side before it qualifies, I think. Also, there’s that perm. The first one of you (KCShoup) to say something about a permullet (I can’t compete with this little sweetie) may find dish-soap in her coffee. Just saying. I think what saves me in this photo is the patriotic motif I have going on here. It’s almost like a foreshadowing of my aspiration to write a Young Adult novel about the Navy, no?
Also, I really had a thing about the collar shirt under the sweater. Maybe everyone did back then. Remember my eighth grade photo? Oh go on and have another look. You’ll feel better about yourself. This is what Jr. High cheerleaders are made of in the 80’s. And furthermore, that eighth grade shot…seriously, I make the bumpit feel bad about itself. Who has happie hair? Jody Sparks has happie hair. But wait, there’s more! To this day, I bump the bumpit off it’s pedestal! Check my head-shot. That scarf look requires no fancy hair heightners. It’s just me, a hair tie, and the scarf. But, we’ll see how I feel about my style now, in another 15 years or so.
Jody Sparks Mugele 
::ahem:: Not a word… I like my creamer with coffee sans Palmolive.