Beauty Classes

When I was young, my mother told me I was beautiful. I felt gangling and uncertain like teenagers do, but Mama knew me well and helped me get set up in a program that encouraged and taught lessons on personal grooming, charm and manners.

There were quite a few girls in my beauty class, most of us were seniors at the local high school. We learned how to sit, walk and talk during our classes. We all lived in the town of Yucaipa, California and the year was 1972.

Now that it is 2011, it has been almost 40 years since those days. I still remember quite a few things I learned. One lesson that I still use daily is that a pumice stone keeps your feet and other easily calloused areas soft. Another lesson that I think about regularly is how to sit on a chair, when wearing a dress, so you don't flash the world. They taught us how to converse with people you have never met before and how to be kind and gracious, even in disappointment. I was quite tall so I remember practicing how to walk in heels so I could be graceful. I remember being taught that a smile makes everyone feel more comfortable and it is an expression that should be worn most often.

I took these classes for a few months, from February until April, when we had a pageant at the school gym to show what we had learned. I won the highest honors at that pageant and it helped give me confidence that I still rely on to this day. Three years later my sister also signed up for the program and did quite well, too.

I'll always be grateful for my mother who could see me for more than I could. When we were discussing the opportunity I remember mom telling me that by signing up for the classes I would learn things that would help me throughout my life and that when I was a young mother or mature woman I would look back on that time with appreciation and satisfaction--and she was right. It was an experience that changed my life for good.

Thanks Mom.