Thursday 27 January 2011

I was a goth, yes I was. I was punky, yes I was. I was into metal, yes I was. I was also a bit weird, yes I was. Obsessed with how I looked, yes I was. But somewhere in between then and now I changed, and don't really care how I look anymore. Is that a crime?



Now, before I show you my teen photos, I just want to let you know that Bryan Russell is posting one of my flash fiction pieces on his blog, The Alchemy of Writing, today! So do me a favour and shimmy over there, after here, to take a look. It's a quick read, only about 400 words, so it won't take you long :o) If you'd like to learn more about Bryan, you can also head over to Matthew Rush's abode to read an interview with him.

Also there are two awesome Blogfests coming up that you really don't want to miss!

Nicole Ducleroir's Bernard Pivot Blogfest, which focuses on getting to know each other better. Sign up. It's fun and easy.

Blogging From A to Z April Challenge 2011And Arlee Bird's A-Z April Challenge. I participated in the A-Z last year and it was a riot! Check it out!







Ok, here's me being brave and giving you a glimpse into my late teens, very early twenties. I changed the way I looked a lot, and really liked to go OVERBOARD with dressing up! Oh man ... tell me again, why am I showing you these?

Sixteen


Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

Nineteen 

Twenty


Twenty-one
Me, last year, boofy-haired, a little more chubby than I used to be, lazy to put make-up on or dress up, but hey, that's me and I'm happy to be me. I'll be 30 next month, and can't wait to see what this new decade brings!


Have a great weekend, everyone! See ya on the flipside!

45 comments:

  1. Jess you're adorable!!! I love to see how you changed throughout the years! I am not near as bold as you are... I'll be keeping those tucked away FOR LIFE!

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  2. You're gorgeous, and apparently, you always have been.

    I'm very excited to see your flash fiction. Bryan's is the first place I ever shared my creative writing with anyone, and my life has rocked ever since.

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  3. Well, hats off to you! That took guts... which, incidentally, is a requisite to ever go goth.
    That said, you look great in most of those pics so, you weren't go too far out on a limb! ; j

    It's neat see the changes over time... I've been dressing the same since I was old enough to choose my clothes for myself. In fact I still wear some clothes from then!

    Now where did I put my blackmail folder? ; j

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  4. One of the characters in my new novel is a Goth - a very minor character (she gets one line) - so maybe you could tell me a) what the attraction was and b) if you (or any other Goth come to think of it) would ever have worn a pair of what I refer to as "regulation-issue Klingon boots."

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  5. You look smashing, Jess! Whatever way you make yourself look, you still look pretty as ever. I like the way you look without make-up too! :) Thanks so much for sharing these beautiful photos with us. :)

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  6. @Jim: Hmm, my attraction was that I liked attention then, and the only way to get it was to look different. I also like the idea of people judging me by the way I dressed, which would give me the secret satisfaction that they had no idea who I was about inside. I think I like the mysteriousness of it. RE the boots: What 'shit-kicker boots'? Hell yeah! ;o)

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  7. Aww. I love the pink hair. :)

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  8. Nothing to be ashamed of there! I've been far more boring, basically never changing my look ever even though I don't really like the way I look.

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  9. You're a goth girl all right! And thanks for plugging the A to Z Challenge. We have almost 100 signed up so far.

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  10. I love the pictures! I think lots of girls wish to dress like that but don't! But somehow I don't you've ever been one to hide or be shy! :)

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  11. @ Laura: I was actually very shy. And I think I dressed like that because I could kinda pretend I was someone else, pretend to be confident. I also got drunk a lot which de-inhibited me, if that's a word :o)

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  12. These photo's are wonderful, what a very attractive person you are.


    Yvonne.

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  13. You just get more and more beautiful with each passing year. Loved seeing your picture timeline. Beautiful!!

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  14. Ahhh sister...you're beautiful throughout. Believe me, I could dig up some embarrassing crap...

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  15. Those are great pictures! I love the cherry red hair you had in that one. Very cool!

    And, I read your flash fiction. It's wonderful. I love that it is a prose poem. :D

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  16. You were gorgeous in each photo. None of us are as secure as we want to be in our teens. Some are just better actors than others. I would say your less attention to outer detail suggests more attention to your inner world. Just a guess. Brave lass. Roland

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  17. You have great pics! You are so beautiful. I love the pink hair. My friend just colored her hair dark pink and she's in her late 30s. I'm still not that brave. =)

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  18. LOL. Love it! My favorite is twenty one - you look gorgeous in that photo!!! :-)

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  19. ah! lol.. this is a great post.. a glimpse into your past...

    lol
    - Sy

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  20. Well, after reading your flash fiction, I can see that your writing is as creative as your persona, and in your writing, is the real you. Thanks for the glimpse

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  21. Ah, youth. So unaware of the weight of gravity. Or how much free time you gain by being lazy.

    You look charming throughout, though slightly dangerous when you were seventeen. Something about that smile...

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  22. A pretty girl is a pretty girl is a pretty girl...however she dresses up! Goth suits you. :) Wish I had the guts to do it! I did have pink hair once, when I was sixteen. Don't tell my kids! ;)

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  23. Awww, you look super pretty in all of them :) And such personality and zest for life...*sigh* I feel really boring.

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  24. My favorite is the "Cyndi Lauper" look with red/pink hair, seriously. I have niece who is goth. My advice to all, "Let your freak fly and be proud of it."

    Have a wonderful weekend :)
    Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

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  25. Great Photos Jessica! It is interesting to see how you evolved over the years. I like your 30 Photo! Looking good!

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  26. Beautiful pictures, Jessica. I especially like the 16 yr old one with the braids. You look very sure of yourself there. I love how you changed your look so much!! And you look pretty in every single one!

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  27. You looked rather dangerous at 19 when you were in front of all the pictures.

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  28. Love each and every one of you! How bold and brave you looked.

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  29. Aw! Love the 16-year-old Jess! You looked fantastic, whatever the age and the look!

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  30. hi miss jessica! wow i love all those pictures. its fun seeing how you could look a while back and now. but for sure you got one thing that didnt never change and thats how pretty you are. :)
    ...big hugs from lenny

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  31. You look fab in all your styles. Will go read your flash.

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  32. I was a punk-goth girl too! Maybe one day I'll post a few pictures. Maybe.

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  33. *snort* silly bunny. Love the red bangs on the bed look. I have a friend who's goth... I'm an old lady, so we didn't have that when I was your age. (LOL! yep, just said that~)

    Back in my day (Granny says), we were just Cure/Smiths/Depeche Mode/Joy Division fans in black turtlenecks and red lipstick. And now (like you) I barely wear lipstick. sigh~ :D <3

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  34. Loved your flash fiction. What a georgeous girl you are. Happy 39th.

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  35. Great pics and shout it loud because you look marvelous. And its not how you feel, its how you look and you look marvelous (bad Billy Crystal imitation). Thanks for letting us get to know you a little better.

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  36. Aw that's cheating! You've always looked great. In retrospect I should have been a goth and it would have made me more confident, I think, but I got a job in a bank at 16. I wouldn't have kept it long with black makeup and piercings! ... actually that would have been a Good Thing!

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  37. I love you at sixteen! You're so adorable!

    Sadly, I was just a boring high schooler who only wished she had pink hair! At least you have cool pictures like this to look back at!

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  38. Thanks for the A to Z mention. Hope some your readers follow you into the funzone of the Challenge.

    Your changing look doesn't surprise me too much. I think we all have our phases as we grow up and eventually end up not caring about trends that much. I don't think I have the photos to track my younger days' looks.

    Lee
    Tossing It Out and the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge 2011

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  39. Goth, punk, metal, it didn't matter. You couldn't hide the fact you were (and are) a babe! :)

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  40. Beautiful at every stage along the way. :)

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  41. I watched my sister go through most of these phases. She even shaved her hair off once.

    I have to say, you look wonderful in all of them.
    The enigmatic, masked blogger

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  42. Fun, fun, fun! A new look for every year.

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  43. That was super Jessica! I love how you expressed yourself over the years. Priceless!

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  44. I think you look great in all the pictures. I wish I had been as brave as you when I was that age- they suit you so.

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  45. Came back. Looking for the clearer version of that photo that made the cover of Solo, and man, it's crazy to see what a time warp looking at an old blog post can pull you into.

    It's an honor to have you as a friend, Jess. You keep on rockin on.

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“I'm using my art to comment on what I see. You don't have to agree with it.” ~John Mellencamp

“Allowing an unimportant mistake to pass without comment is a wonderful social grace” ~Judith S. Marin

“I don't ever try to make a serious social comment.” ~Paul McCartney

“I'd make a comment at a meeting and nobody would even acknowledge me. Then some man would say the same thing and they'd all nod.” ~Charlotte Bunch

“Probably what my comment meant was that I don't care about the circumstances if I can tell the truth.” ~Sally Kirkland

“We're not going to pay attention to the silliness and the petty comments. And quite frankly, women have joined me in this effort, and so it's not about appearances. It's about effectiveness.” ~Katherine Harris