In which the YA author shares the great and awkward of her teenage years.
I have been lining up more guest posts for this great day of celebration over here at Sparks and Butterflies. You will not want to miss the coming month of Sundays. And don’t forget, if you’re a YA author who wants to participate, email me!
But today I give you a photo of myself during my freshman year of college. We’ve discussed this photo a little bit over on Facebook, so pardon the repeat performance. But this deserves an encore. Now, granted I was studying and had no plans to go out, so we can forgive my sweatsuit, yes, sweatsuit and decidedly 1980’s fluorescent pink socks. I will not, however, forgive my (to quote my friend Tammara’s phrasing) “Penis-y” haircut.
But going beyond the appearance of me, feast your eyes on my hip and classy taste in movies:
1. Beauty and the Beast
2. The Little Mermaid
3. The Return to the Blue Lagoon
4. Single White Female
5. Benny and Joon
6. Nowhere To Run, and the clincher….
7. Ernest Scared Stupid
What can we learn from this? Never underestimate your roommate’s love. Man, did Teffeny love me for allowing me to decorate the room! She also recorded this moment in time, presumably in order to come back now and have the last laugh.
(And: don’t worry Jody, you won’t need those floppy discs and dot matrix printer much longer, they’re about to invent CDs and Google! And eventually flat screens! And laser printers, too!) Look at me, writing on paper! Probably something about boys. I bet our phone even had a cord.
**Note: Now that this is becoming somewhat of an author community type series of posts, I’m going to start a tab for Self-Deprecating Sunday, so you scan the archives and revisit your favorites.
Jody Sparks Mugele 
Oh for the love of Moses that made me giggle. Penis haircut. That is a doozie.
Thank you for the chuckle!!!
Remind me to show you my killer Richard Marx mullet in 5th grade. First and only perm.
Oh Kristin, I anxiously await that photo!
That was a room of glory. Sometimes, I would stand and look at the walls in the same way I stare at paintings when I’m at the Metropolitan Museum now. I loved stopping by your room.
Thank you. I like to think we brought something special to Hart Hall. It helped that our room was right next to the pop machines. We got a lot of visitors because of that. You know, I think you’d most definitely qualify for a guest post, LLD, given your job and all. I hope you’ll consider it. *bats eyes*
Oh Jody! I did love you bunches! The thing you don’t see is the picture of me from the same day: Also in sweats, red headband, stringy hair, & glasses bigger than my face. Bible, Dr Pepper, magic 8 ball & Malibu bottle on my desk– oh yes quite the scandal. Somehow when you decorated all of the Disney cartoon posters surrounded my bed, hmm what was that about? That being said, our room was THE ROOM to hang out in & everyone knew it! I loved being your roommate & couldn’t imagine my college experience without you! I love you Moomrate!
Oh yes, the scandalous Malibu bottle! Why did we never get a raucous game of spin the bottle going? oh yeah–closed dorms. DUMB. I LOVED that magic eight ball! And I LOVED being your moomrate. You weren’t even drunk when you said that the first time, were you? Haha! We ruled.
I just want to state for the record that “penis-y” was applied to something OTHER than Jody’s haircut when I said it. (And now I’m curious what in hell I was referring to as penis-y. Because lord knows that is the sort of curiosity that must be appeased!)
Oh, haha oopsie, I hadn’t really meant to imply you’d said that about my hair. It was a character name Peter. (I’m mature.)
Yes, you are 😉 — as am I…