I don't know if you find young pics of yourself as embarrassing as I do, but my whole childhood was spent being awkward!
I was awkwardly tall – hitting 5 ft 9" by the time I was 13.
My hair was straight, thin, and wouldn't hold a curl without a ton of hairspray.
I wore glasses from the time I was two – after having surgery as a toddler to correct a lazy eye.
Back then surgeries like this were rarely successful – and I finally had laser surgery to correct the strabismus in both eyes around 2002.
Compile big glasses of the late 1970s with braces on my teeth and a Farrah Fawcett hairdo and this is what you get!
Me at 16.
Remember that song "for ugly girls like me at 17"?
I used to cry at night thinking that song was written specifically for me.
It's almost painful to look back at these pictures and remember how hard it was being a teenager back then – no – I would never wish to go back.
I kind of like the view from here :-)
52 comments:
Awww...I wish I could have known you then, I'd have befriended you and we would not have even cared about those little things. You look as sweet as we know you to be now. And, I think you were CUTE!
Lucy~
Look at that radiant smile--you were still happy in that picture!!! Time changes everything & I am happy to be where I am right now. I would hate to have to go back to the teenage years--I love my freedoms of being older. I loved raising sons. I can stay up all night and sew if I want to (wish the body would cooperate with me)!!!! You were brave to post the picture--and can now realize how full your life is now compared to then.
Oh, the big glasses. Loved those things at the time and now can't believe it was ever in style.
Think of growing up like a quilt. You start with fabric... some beautiful, some not so pretty... but with promise. You cut it up and stitch it all back together. (Our teenage years.) The result is a beautiful piece of work. And, here you are today!
kids are cruel, and even harder on themselves...can you imagine how hard it was for your folks to watch you suffer so? you were and are beautiful!
You look like a lovely young woman from where I sit. And just look at the wonderful woman you've become. You're BEAUTIFUL. And Carly Simon sang that song for herself, not you.
I have a picture of myself that looks very much like that. Lots of people looked like us, but I sure did feel alone then.
You are gorgeous with your Farrah Fawcett hairdo!
Teenage years are so hard...so many changes to deal with.
I must go hug my teenagers!!
A lovely young lady that has grown even more lovely.
It's awful to think how many young women spend so much time feeling inadequate or "less than" because of image. Good thing we somehow survived to learn there is more to us than our face and body. Ilove your smile Bonnie--and your mind!
So with you on this, Bonnie. I always find it amusing when some celebrity/actor, etc., explains their career choice by telling how they never "fit in" as a teen. None of us felt like we fit in as teens, we just didn't know everyone felt the same way!
You look like a perfectly cute example of the times.
Oh yes I remember those really hard years. Not popular. Not pretty. Just a little over weight and with lots of blemishes. And cat eye glasses as I was a teen in the 60's. Then I married at 17 and had a baby and divorce at 18. Naturally curly hair too. (straight hair was the thing)
I much prefer where I am at in my life now. Married 42 year and all the children grown. Retired and getting to quilt with good friends.
Much prefer.
Being a teen was hard for a lot of us back then. But . . look at you now! Beautiful inside and out!
Hi Bonnie, I also had the lazy eye surgery at age 2, had to wear a patch, and wore the BIG glasses as a teen. Couple that with being a 'ginger' (the new hip descrip for freckled red-head), and oh, I thought "17" was my song. Thanks for sharing :-)
Well I think the picture is cute. Maybe cause I remember those glasses. And braces. And home perms. And some really interesting attire. ;)
I went through the same thing... I had a 9 shoe size when I was in 8th grade or so. lol
Gosh, I was the tallest one. Got boobs first. All arms and legs. I felt SOOOOOO awkward. Then, it all avereaged out in the end. It is hard being at that awkward age.
Have you ever seen on ELLEN where she shows people's pictures?!?!
It is HILARIOUS!~ lol Mullets, perms gone wild, crazy clothes, strange glamour shots. lol
You look like you are having a great time in your travels. It was hotter HERE!~~ Been in the 80's.
But, it's going to all get back to normal soon, so they say.
Meant to add....You are GORGEOUS now!~ In most cases, "the pretty girls" then... are not so hot now... It all averages out. You look wonderful and gosh are you SUCCESSFUL!~ You go girl!
Ah, Bonnie - in an era when 5' 9" was enormous, I once overheard someone describing my petite friend and I as 'Lilian and the big one'! I didn't tan, didn't have the obligatory late-1950s smoothly flicked-out hair, and couldn't dance. Serious stuff then - makes me laugh now.
I remember prissily telling some young guy that I didn't 'agree with the Twist' because a)I had no idea how to do it and b) I was the product of a girls' boarding school that didn't give instructions about Dancing With Men. Eventually mastered the Twist but would still like to be able to jive...
I was awkwardly tall too and very self conscious of it. Now I wish I had gotten even taller! I always tell tall teenage girls to embrace it.
I too think that you look cute in your picture! Being a teenager was hard and most of us thought Carly Simon was singing a song about us.
Isn't life better now!I am not nostalgic at all for high school either, but look how far you have come since then! You bring so much joy to so many. This brings me to what I really wanted to write you about. I have really been itching for some quilt cam. I know you can't while you are on the road. Please don't think I am complaining, or requesting. I only wanted to let you know that I am even more aware now, want a pleasant interlude in my day it was, an excuse to stop and sew, AND also receive some useful tips; and a break from other more stressful pursuits. Also, thanks for the broccoli soup recipe. I am planning to try it this afternoon.
I think what is interesting is those who were the "beautiful" people aren't as we grow older. my sister and I were always considered to be fat. when I look at childhood pics we were not ,but oh those so skinnies are not anymore. I think you looked just like a beautiful teenager.
OMG! You look exactly my best friend Guusje way back in the seventies 8^} She won't believe it!
I'll tell her to look at her pic, we stayed best friends from 6 yrs old and all the way up to these days! Love it! (see the BIG smile on my face!)
We both are aging gracioously, at least, it's our opinion!
Love from freezing Amsterdam,
Irene
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder ... from where I sit you are one helluva woman, Bonnie Hunter!! Stop playing those "bad tapes" in your head ... toss 'em out ... you're a wonderful, talented, blessed woman ... and so are we for having YOU in our lives! Linda
OMG.....you looked just like my best friend, Debbie! Holy cow, it's like you were twins! :o)
You looked like so many others ( a pretty high school kid) but back then we all thought we were ugly. It is so sad that as young girls we had so little confidence in ourselves. You are a lovely talented lady.
You were pretty then, but I know you couldn't see it. Look where you are now - you have a wonderful family, a job you love and get to travel. I bet a lot of the girls you thought were pretty would trade places in a heart beat. You have my dream life - but luckily I get to live it too except that I am retired now.
yep, teenage years are just awkward. And the '70s were kind to no one, lol! I have amblyopia (lazy eye+) and had 3 surgeries to correct to no avail...so I live with a very crooked eye which bothers me only. My family and friends don't seem to care. Did you ever read the Peanuts with Sally having a lazy eye too? Snoopy used to steal her eyepatch. Made me laugh as a kid. I wouldn't be a teenager again either. Keep on keeping on!
Hey, Bonnie, I am pretty you that THESE are your glory years! Loving family, successful career, beautiful home. Enjoy.
Oh Bonnie....I can so relate. I have worn glasses since I was 8 and remember most of the classroom laughing when I walked in the first day of wearing them. I wanted to crawl in a hole!! I was never tall; but I was the only cheerleader with glasses on my squad and always felt "different". I got to wear the so called "cat glasses" before the big ones LOL. My hair was so straight that my mom used to give me the home perms til I was old enough to protest. Those pictures are still hard to look at.
But....if you look back, all of us who wore glasses looked just as you did back then and we all thought we were ugly! You have a lovely personality and are such an inspiration to many of us in the quilting world. I so enjoyed meeting you at the Vermont Quilt Show, and you didn't make my friend feel like she was bothering you when she asked to take your picture either.
Sweet Bonnnie, I remember that song and want you to know you were not alone while listening to it. I had the braces, the glasses, the hair AND cystic acne (think really LARGE volcanic bumps)! Thank goodness we made it through that phase. Look at the fabulous WOMEN we are now!! I'll celebrate you if you celebrate me!!
There is no ugly there Ms Bonnie. You just did not see your beauty as most teenagers do. You are pretty inside and out.
Gale/Oklahoma
As a 5'9" teenager with fine hair and a figure like a pencil (gee, wouldn't mind having that back!), I can relate to how you may have felt then. But you've grown into a beautiful, personable and very talented woman who brings so much beauty into the lives of others. You share so much of your life and talents with so many, and for that I applaud you. Bonnie Hunter, you rock!
Myrna in KY.
I hated the awkwardness of my teen years, too. Pimples, glasses, chubby, introverted. Middle school was torture. So glad we all made it through!! No, I would never want to go back either.
As a child I never had glasses or braces and I always thought it would be so cool to have them. (What did I know--I have since had braces as an adult and now have glasses.) I also suffered with naturally curly (and frizzy) hair that couldn't be trained to do anything as stylish as a Farrah do. How I would have envied you.
How very sad that you didn't recognize that you were beautiful (big glasses and all). Hopefully, by the time you're 65 or so, you'll be able to put aside the emotional content, take another look, and see the beauty you were (as well as the one you've become).
I remember that song!... not in a good way either. I survived jr. high, but boy was glad to "grow up" and get out of high school. At a recent reunion I finally confirmed my suspicions why I was suddenly shunned... a vicious rumour started by a jealous girl when I was assigned her boyfriend as a lab partner. So glad those years are done!
Sometimes when we aren't so confident about our appearance we try hard to make up for it in other areas. Maybe that's how you developed your sparkly and magnetic personality and your good business sense...and your creative talent! I bet you have more fans/friends on Facebook than any of the other kids you went to school with!
I remember the 1970s glasses very well. :) I don't think there is a teenage girl alive who is satisfied with the way she looks. I look back now and realize I looked just fine....just lacked self-confidence and an attitude.
Isn't life amazing? Here I see you as such a confident, positive, strong person who can get up and teach to a group and assumed you must have always been that way! Just goes to show you never know the difficulties people meet on their journeys. Never assume someone has had it easier than you! Thanks for sharing all your creativity and energy with us~Liz in Fall City
Janis Ian @ 17.....I so identify. Is it not nice to be like a fine wine and get better with age! Well done, Ms Bonnie!
Isn't it amazing that any of us made it thru our teens!!! LOL
Aren't we in our "glory days" now? Lol
Aren't we in our "glory days" now? Lol
Aren't we in our "glory days" now? Lol
Hey, at least you got better looking! Some of us, not so lucky...LOL.
I remember the song, Janice Ian I think.
Bonnie - I HONESTLY think you looked cute!!!!! But, self-perception is the reality, isn't it!
sao in Midlothian, VA
nicely said!
Indeed! Being as teenager was never easy...
Yes, we had it tough back in the late 60's and 70's. I was 6ft tall and weighed 125lbs by the time I was 13. Tall and VERY skinny. Didn't have the glasses until college, but similar look. We all survived and I would say that we all turned out GREAT!
I spent my younger years feeling awkward too. I also was 5'9 by 13, and not skinny. I felt like a huge elephant compared to my prepubescent peers, but really I wasn't overweight. I wouldn't go back to being a teenager again no way, but. Wouldn't mind being that "heavy" again!
You and my sister could have been twins. She too wore glasses at an early age after having surgery for "lazy eye." She also had long thin hair that needed tons of Aqua Net to hold a wave before arriving at school. Yet I thought and still do that she was the most beautiful sister (and still is) even when she didn't.
Post a Comment
If you are commenting as "anonymous" please leave your name at the end of your comment.
Did you know that ad space on this blog provides for all of the free patterns and free mysteries and challenges at no cost to you? Without ads, this blog would not be possible.
Thank you for understanding the many hours that go into this blog 6 days a week, 52 weeks a year. :)