Pine Needles on the Carpet

She rubbed her sneakers on the carpet - just to spite me.

I don't know how many times I politely asked my roommates to remove their shoes while in the house.

The floor is a sacred place. I watch TV on the floor, eat on the floor, sleep on the floor and everything else on the floor. So, when someone purposely rubs shoes onto the carpet that may or may not have tracked in dog shit or God-knows-what, it's not only an insult, it's downright malicious.
And on carpet?!  There's no way to wipe it up!  Who knows what kind of animals are living in the folds of  fabric now!

Stuff Mixed People Like

Another mixed friend of mine told me about Stuff Mixed People Like.  It's a take off of the Stuff White People Like blog.  Both are quite funny...

He he...  Funny, funny...

Foundation

I put on my make up today.

It was the end of third grade. I got a certificate for something or other. Mrs. G., took a picture of Jenny and I. She gave me the picture at the end of the school year. Jenny and I stood and smiled so proud with certificates in hand. Looking at that picture, I think this was the first time I really noticed my skin color.

My foundation is much lighter than the pigment in my skin. I smear it on with a sponge anyway. I try to rub it in as smoothly as possible - so the color will look natural.

Jenny was blonde-haired, blue-eyed and fair-skinned. I had brown skin and brown curly hair - the kind that didn't move after styling it. The kind that stood straight up when the wind blew. The kind that you couldn't run your fingers through.

I paint on my eyes with eyeliner. In the outer corner of my eyes I make sure to draw a slight point - to make my eyes look like they're perpetually squinting but nice and big at the same time. Lots of mascara.

Looking at that picture or even thinking about it still makes me cringe a little. I would love to toss that picture in the garbage disposal if it weren't for that stupid, proud smile I donned. I'd like to pretend that I don't know why I get that feeling. I could even lie about it and say that "it's just some random feeling, I guess."

But, it's not. It's the feeling that I get every once in a while when I look around me. Or, when I look at old pictures.

I put on some bright rouge. I look in the mirror and hope that I don't look like that little girl with the ignorant smile. But, the tears melt the white away.