Most Wanted Posters - Friday

Despite my own personal fashion and grooming habits (dictated by the unholy world of professionalism), I’ve always been a secret fan of untraditional attire, provocative individual expression, and daring hairstyles (most likely due to the fact I haven’t been able to style my non-existent hair for many, many years). And I most certainly love to spotlight very different appearances, from classic to modern to nonconformist.

This lovely lady’s use of vibrant reds and calming yellows, combined with her grayish-blue eyes, accentuates and sharpens the natural contours of her features, shattering conventional standards of beauty.

She reminds me of a young lass I had the pleasure of knowing for a few years while attending college. I did not meet her at a house party, a pre-determined social gathering, or a night painting the town red, so to speak: while standing in line behind her at one of the eatery options our cafeteria/social area provided for students, I simply noticed we had ordered the same lunch. Exactly. Down to the number of napkins. If I wasn’t a budding college student at the time, approaching her about this fact would have seemed creepy, or off-putting, but I was young and unfettered, so I hazarded a short comment about her good taste. She whirled (a reaction I received quite often when younger because of the deepness of my voice), her eyes large and searching, until they landed on my harmless countenance. She then glanced at my tray and immediately developed the same interest in our identical choices (she was the one who noticed the same amount of napkins).

From this point forward, we frequently ate lunch together, casually enjoying each other’s company. We never broadened our friendship, and I do remember reflecting on why years later. It might have been her lack of interest in me more than a friend, or a fear of trying to assimilate into my world of friends because she did not see her views of the world and her personal choices of expression reflecting back; or it was on my part, and I was nervous, hesitant, maybe even afraid to drag her into a more traditional playing field, fearing embarrassment or social consequences.

I like to believe the fault was her responsibility, because I definitely wouldn’t worry about such silly restrictions now; however, it’s hard to remember the people we once were.