Acne Agony

I stepped out of the shower this evening and, after I had grabbed my towel, I wasted five or ten minutes staring at myself in the mirror. This is not because I think I’m particularly lovely, but rather because over the past few months, beginning in January as my final Wintersession ended, I’ve developed acne.

Allow me to explain. All through high school, and most of college, my skin was clean and clear (pun intended). I was an object of loathing because of my lack of breakouts. While my friends avoided astronomers, fearful of jokes comparing them to various crater-ridden moons, I was blisfully pimple-free.

No more. Now there’s a swath of little red bumps that mar my forehead, and nothing I do can banish them for long. How is this possible? For heaven’s sake, I’ve graduated from college! Why is it that I seem to be regressing?

Before graduation, even before the start of senior year, I thought that leaving Wellesley would be the magical signal that would transform me into a Grown Up Person. After all, when you finish college you’re supposed to have a job, independence, confidence, the whole package. Instead, I’m writing a blog update from my old bedroom in my parents’ house, unable to find even temporary summer employment. I’m twenty one, almost twenty two, and I still feel like a child. I even look like one.

Perhaps these spots have been brought on by the stress that accompanies this pervasive feeling of failure. On the other hand, maybe they’re a reminder that, even though I’m back in the Real World, ostensibly a Grown Up Person, there is still a lot of room for growth. And maybe I should remember that growing, like everything else except instant coffee, takes time.

–Rose-Ellen, ‘09 VP