I've always been the "creative" type, whether I'm writing, making music, or experimenting with outfit choices. I would definitely say that my creativity really blossomed at a young age, and perhaps, was even at its freest. It was definitely evident with all the weird things I used to do to my hair and face in school. Call me bored or call me innovative, all I knew was that it was really fun to do — and I thought I looked fabulous.
I mean, don't get me wrong — I was a good student growing up, but during break or lunch, I was always looking for different ways to decorate my face or fix my hair to change up my look. I guess nothing has really changed, because I pretty much still do this today — just with less weird stuff.
Growing up in the '90s and early 2000s was a really cool experience, because before all the social media and tweeting in between classes, there was pretty much nothing else to do except entertain yourself somehow. (Shocking, I know.) Usually, this meant switching up your hairstyle in the middle of class or applying some cool pen ink tattoo on your best friend. Gel pens, anyone? You feel me.
I'm sure some (read: most) of you can relate to all the bizarre practices I participated in during my younger days. Here are six weird things you probably used to do to your hair and face during school:
You Used A Pen As A Hair Tie
I remember watching a scene from the movie Rush Hour thinking, "Whoa, that lady just used a chopstick to tie her hair up." Inspired, I too wanted to try the same technique, but with a pen. Why? I don't know, it's all I had when I was bored during class. And hey, it actually worked. Plus, it allowed me to never lose any pens, I always just grabbed one from my hair. To be honest, whenever I run out of hair bands as an adult, I resort to using pens for a quick fix.
You Made Flower Crowns During P.E. Or Recess
I'm pretty sure a lot of you know what I'm talking about. During P.E. class, while waiting to be timed for your mile run, my friends and I would always pick out a couple of little flower weeds and turn them into flower crowns or bracelets, sometimes even necklaces. Yes, it was a little way of being creative while also making friends, because making friends was already awkward enough.
You Ribbons In Your Hair
This was perhaps one of my favorite things to do. Since I was in cheer and volleyball, I always had extra ribbons on me and gladly gave them to anyone who asked. Whether my team and I were rocking ponytails, braids, or in half-up, half-down dos, you could always count on ribbons being in our hair.
You Painted Your Nails With Highlighters
OK, this was super weird, I'll admit it, but it's not like you could bring nail polish to school and bug everyone with the scent of acetone. I had to improvise, and by improvise, I mean I would paint my nails with highlighters. How did I take it off eventually? I really don't remember — all I know is that it was pretty cool having fingertips that looked like the colors of a neon rainbow.
You Created Ink Tattoos With Gel Pens
Thornton's Art Supply Premium Assorted Colors Set of 48 Gel Pens, Overstock.com, $18.99
Since we couldn't have real tattoos, I remember my friends and I writing tons of "henna" type tattoos on each other, and the gel pens worked the best. It was a cool way for us to be creative and not get in trouble with our parents for it.
You Used Rubber Bands On The Cuffs Of Your Pants
I remember this one trend that happened in school where literally every girl and guy rubber banned the cuffs of their pants. This made the bottoms shorter, allowing them to lightly touch the top of your sneakers. Yes, I was one of them, and I pretty much had a bag of rubber bands in my backpack just in case they broke. Looking back at it now, I still don't know why this was in, so I'm probably going to leave this style for memories only.
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Images: HaHaStop.com; Courtesy of Brands; Giphy (3)
