<p>Agreed, I just want the girls from the other cultures to be prepared when they move up here! It was a shock for me and I never spent more than 20 minutes primping. I think there should be more southern kids in the boarding schools. The culture really is quite different. When we first moved here, I was appalled that kids addressed me by my first name. (nevermind that they didn't say yes ma'am!) It struck me as incredibly disrespectful. I soon realized, however, that they were not being disrespectful, it just wasn't the norm in this culture. I think it's a similar situation with regards to the hair/make-up thing. We tend to get so used to our own ideas of what it normal that we are shocked by something that is different. Just like the kids who call me by my first name are not being disrespectful, the girls who don't spend hours on their hair and make-up are not without personal pride.</p>
<p>Another north/south difference is in attitudes about food. Where I come from, the joke is that our favorite pastimes are eating and talking about eating. A friend came over once while I was cooking dinner here and she asked about how I was cooking the green beans. She said, "But doesn't that take all the nutritive value away? Cooking them that long?" I had to laugh, because we eat because it tastes good. That food keeps us alive is just an added benefit! </p>
<p>I have enjoyed the difference here and I hope that all the students will not be too quick to judge. It is a bit weird sometimes, but that discomfort is one of the benefits of diversity.</p>
<p>Yeah people here are very yes sir no sir yes ma'am no ma'am and respect is very important and people tend to respect you more if you look better. I've been up there a few times and people do seem to be generally nicer here than up there but any way how you look is very important it's peoples first impression of you and you only get one chance to get a first impression so you need to make sure it's good. And about the food thing i personally am more of a health food person I mean i like to eat what tastes good but i prefer to eat something that is going to be healthier and make me feel better later when i work out or whatever</p>
<p>Wow! It is also very different here in Southern California. Nose jobs are the norm for 16th birthdays and a lot of my friends straighten/curl their hair in the morning. I think it depends on the person. I have a friend who wakes up at 5:00 to do her makeup/hair, and I have a friend that curls her hair in less than 5 minutes. :) I've never known anyone to start straightening their hair in class. Not only is that rude and disrespectful here, it's a serious case of public grooming. Personally, I'm very excited in going (hopefully) to the east coast because I feel like I would be more comfortable there. Does anybody know the differences between east vs. west?</p>
<p>thingslost, I think of the west coast (well, california at least, that's where I've visited the most in the west) as very laid back and cool. and hip. and liberal. and i think of the east coast as a bit more conservative, with strong-opinions, which may come off as arrogance at times. i've lived near boston all my life and i must say i love it, but i'd love to go to stanford or somewhere else on the west coast. i love california i eeeeeeeeenvy you for getting to live there :D</p>
<p>here in washington: ive straightened my hair in class before, but my teacher didnt care cause shes plastic. like she's 21 or something. she spends hours in the morning primping herself up</p>
<p>make up and stuff, to do retouches me and my friends just say we need to go to the bathroom and take our "pencil pouch" which is exclusively for our make-up. we usually come back in 15 minutes. haha, i remember when i did that during a test. hella funny :) frankly, in my opinion, there's nothing wrong with caring how you look</p>
<p>No, there's nothing wrong with caring how you look. There is something wrong with wasting class time by straightening your hair (seriously, that is so disrespectful! even if the teacher is "plastic" and doesn't care) and taking 15 minute breaks from class to "do retouches"...I'm sure that's "hella funny" to the people that are trying to teach you. Have fun trying that kind of **** in boarding school. Frankly, in my opinion, there is a thin line between caring about how you look and being obsessed with how you look. Learn some manners, seriously.</p>
<p>It's so great to see how well suited some people are here to learning in the east coast and how open they would be to learning at elite boarding schools. Seriously, what, Senay, do you think we're gonna give you mad props because you leave class during tests to do what, of all things, but retouch makeup? I hope you know that that kind of idiocy would NEVER pass at the HADES schools or any other New England boarding schools for that matter.</p>
<p>I agree that there's nothing wrong with caring how you look but you have to realize that under all that makeup that you're wearing there's a human being and human skin. Sometimes I just feel like people forget that by drowning their faces in makeup they are hiding the way that they were meant to be and meant to look. If you want to wear a little makeup and a little mascara, then fine, be my guest, but I just think that it's ridiculous to perceive "looking good" as looking completely different from how you do naturally. It's all a matter of perception.</p>
<p>But seriously, Senay, why are you even applying? You don't seem at all suited to New England (or the real world in general). Do you think that you'll get away with acting like a total barbie or are you just going to go cold turkey on your obsession with your self-image? Either way, if you get in, I can tell that you're going to have a tough time. Good luck to you... And you too, theamazingjasmyn...</p>
<p>Personally I know that I can do it and I really don't think me or senay are acting like "total babies" I know that I could like take a shorter time and not go all out if its necessary and this is important to me so ill do what I need to do</p>
<p>But i will also be able to look good when it matters because looks do matter. Say someone is trying to get like a summer job at like a store or whatever one applicant is really pretty and you are really ugly the pretty one usually will get the job even if the other person has had more experience or whatever</p>
<p>Is getting a job at a store that discriminates on the basis of looks worth the 2+ hours of mindless grooming? And trust me. If you are truly ugly, no amount of makeup will cover it up. Makeup just makes you look fake. Is stores are looking for fake clerks rather than real ones then okay, that's up to them.</p>
<p>I love the way you say "whatever" so often when we're trying to talk about elite boarding schools... It makes you sound really intelligent. "Whatever" is almost as bad as "like"</p>
<p>You're right jasmyn. But it is a double-edged sword. Think back on the election. The press made a big deal over Hillary Clinton's wardrobe choices (too frumpy), then Sara Palin's high heels. When Sara Palin was chosen, the first thing my husband said was, "Not a good move. She's too much prettier than Hillary." That may sound silly but people DO make assumptions on looks, and that is what he was referring to. Far too often, women who are pretty have to work harder to prove that they're smart and sometimes even face animosity from other women who perceive that they are more attractive than them. A smart, attractive woman often finds herself walking a tightrope of sorts. </p>
<p>How many times have you heard someone say, "Oh, she's so pretty.......and smart too!" as if the two don't normally go together.</p>
<p>Over all, I think this is a very interesting discussion.</p>
<p>I wouldn't want to shop at a store where ugly people work and employers don't really want that reputation either because people are attracted to pretty people and usually pretty people have better social skills and about the smart thing some of the smartest people i know would also be on my list for the best looking people i know.</p>
<p>I'm not saying that pretty girls are not IN FACT smart; I'm just saying that the initial perception is sometimes that they aren't. I don't think pretty=dumb and obviously you don't either. I never said that the two were mutually exclusive.</p>
<p>But why don't you want to shop at a store with "ugly" people working? Would you want to go to a school with "ugly" people in it? Because if "ugly" means no make up and straightened hair, then you might not be happy at BS in the northeast. Your teachers may not be pretty. How will you deal with that?</p>
<p>Maybe, when you go shopping you are buying an image instead of a product, and the looks of the salesgirls fit the image? So if you like the way the salesgirl looks she'll be more likely to be able to make you look that way too? I think I understand that. It makes sense. You wouldn't buy a Mercedes from a guy in overalls. Got it. It won't matter if your classmates and teachers aren't pretty because that's not what you're "buying" from them. Do I understand?</p>
<p>Neotoburrito that is exactly what i was saying you aren't so much buying the clothes as you are buying the brand (I'm not saying you should buy ugly clothes from designer retailers and think thats good because its not) but anyway like honestly can you tell me you would rather read a magazine with a really ugly person on the cover or would you want to read a magazine with pretty people on the cover. Models or whatever in magazines are pretty much sales people. Anyways my real point is it's important to take pride in the way you look it reflects that you take pride in yourself and i dont have a problem with people who don't spend time on their hair and makeup and clothes and everything i just don't think you should say people who do are dumb or fake or whatever</p>
<p>jasmyn, senay...................... I don't remember exactly what it's like to be in HS or younger, but you are making me depressed about the human condition. Believe me, I shop places where there are "ugly" people, I am friends with ugly people, I hire ugly people... maybe I am ugly too? One useful measure of thoughts/actions is Does this (thought or action) bring people together? We gain in happiness when we are able to bring people together. We grow sadder when we divide people.</p>