I am not my teeth
Yah!!! for some reason when trying to pick title for this post, that stuck out at once. I am not my teeth, indeed, believe me the words ring out in Indie Arie's " I am not my hair" voice. Anyway what started this post since ya all know, something always triggers my writing mood. Sha I was reading a young girl like me's blog and she was talking about the gap between her front teeth. Immediately all my teeth started howling or doing whatever they do to get our attention. But believe me, I quieted them with a little thought, pschew, talk about mind control. Really don't test me.
Anyways back to my point, somehow a scene of my comp 1 class came crashing. That day, for some reason I cant remember now, we were watching a video of someone saying something about a particular incident and all (believe me, I've got no idea of what the person was saying or why we were watching the video in the first place. However the knowledge dancing close to realisation but skit further back when I try to push into such understanding and so I have given up. Maybe before the end of my rambling/ranting it would flow into focus). But this I remember and why I remembered such incident, a girl commented on how the man/guy in the viral was not American because there were gap in his teeth i.e it wasn't perfect. That totally threw me off and everybody in the class, including the instructor, till she clarified further. She pointed out that American are so consciuos about the "perfect image" (if you don't think so, check out the amount of Barbies/Sorors inducted yearly" that all of them have at one point or the other used braces to correct, straighten and tighten the teeth up. And we all pretty much agreed because we all had doubless prove in front of us, or rather in us. All we had to do was open up our teeth to admit she was/is right and to rightfully say that I am not American.
Which brings me back to my title. I am afraid I better warn you, at this point that this post will be filled with "i-ness" so if you are not up for my rant and all, it is advice-able you leave. However I dont WANT you to leave now, there is a reason I am writing this post. It is to create a rambling piece just like Virginia Woolf (in my mind!!! right, I know. But she is presently the love of my life and the love of my literary life). Back to me, My teeth presently is full of holes and gaps that eating meat and fleshy shizzle is always a problem to me. chunks of meat just always find a way into these in-between-teeth gaps and cause me tremendous pain till I get them out. However I remember a time, not a long time back, when I had the perfect set of teeth, no holes in them and clean and spank, you know the type that audition for Maclean's or Close Up advert. Though presently it seems unlikely, and I wonder why I lost my lost glory. The latter (clean and spank) was probably due to a certain period of experimenting with oral hygiene, a period I purposefully forgot to brush my teeth for a day and then brush them the next day. Why I ever wanted to experiment, I have no idea, beside folly of the youth and the "lets break the system" kinda of ideology. The former( the gaps in my teeth) are a result of constant picking of the teeth and then use of whitening oral substance to try and get my teeth to a state of whiteness, though I am totally considering polishing (if only I had money).
And that is the koko of my beating around the bush. So back to my "blogger friend" who started this train of thought. She presently has a gap teeth that was not there before and terribly feels terrible about it. She is not depressed okay!! but she would want her "perfect" teeth back. And I FEEL THE SAME WAY. Now, even though I know my "unperfect" teeth is a indicator of my heritage, I am afraid I want my no gap all of over my teeth back. And I want them for many reason, all selfish, i am afraid. First of all, I smile all the time and so, who knows maybe someone in those toothpaste industry might see my teeth and I want them to want to use me in their teeth ads(even if I don't accept). Also I want to be able to eat all the meat in the world without care, and not go through the routine I always go whenever I eat me. The most frustrating and heart wrenching is when I go to family parties and all kinda of parties. You know the ones where meats just dance like mad, and to better help yourself, you just add a little rice to your plate and then have all the meat in the world. Well for me, most time it is look and salivate mood. I can only eat one piece of juicy hand pulling meat at such occasion and if you ever saw me eating such, you would kahnu (feel pity) for me. I always have to dissect the piece of meat strand by strand. And that is totally pathetic. But thanks to America now, all thanks to genetic mutation, all the meat are tender even to the extent of "ko gbo".
Okay enough of my pity session. Now I am wondering, even though I want my perfect teeth, and I know it is everyday occurrence in the teeth, am I, Murewa Olubela, willing to use braces to correct my teeth. And a resounding "Heck NO!!!!" that I hear in my persona is scary. Really. which bade me to ask this, why do we as Nigerian see braces as evil to avoided and terrible high school experiencing gadget to behold. Yes Keh, we so are not into braces, even though the procedure is quite expensive (I fink, I dont even bother to find out), yet I still have that mentality of "if I wear braces, I would nevr be cool. Like seriously, are you for real Murewa. AT this age and time. I am saying that to myself as I am sure you are dying to too but the fact remains that you know what I say is true.
And I am going to drop my pen at this (it is 2.03 in the morning and I gat a class by 8, nid to print stuffs out in the printing lab, all thanks to the fact that I forgot to write the work cited page, printed my paper out,then realized my mistake as I was coming back home). But please who determine whats right, whats perfect, whats beautiful, whats idealic or not. Abeg someone tell me, who decides what the status quo is. I need to know, so I can fully box the person's ear. Why, because even as I write this piece, my mind has been steadily singing " I am not my teeth and I am definately not my hair" in India Arie voice too.
So I am going to leave you to chew this one out.
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