Day 233- Chelsea Clinton
This is not about politics.
This is not about status or celebrity.
This is not even about a Vera Wang dress (although it was stunning).
This is about the lovely Chelsea Clinton and the fact that mentioning "lovely" and "Chelsea Clinton" in the same sentence used to make people smirk. It used to. This is about a girl who went through the most awkward of phases coming out on the other side of things. Score one for those of us who had braces or glasses or wore really high waisted pants or had big frizzy hair or were too skinny or too fat or too short or too tall or were told that we were too something or too everything.
I read this week's People today with a cover story about "Chelsea's Dream Wedding!" In the article, I was reminded of Chelsea's formidable years through a series of pictures of her life. The poor girl lived out her most awkard years in front of a merciless, looks-obsessed country. According to the media, everything about her was wrong-- her hair, her skin, her face, her body. Sure, she was not model material by any means, but the girl never signed up to be judged and picked apart like a piece of fried chicken at the Jackson County Fair. She was just a girl at the most unfortunate stage of her life thrust into a national spotlight.
That Chelsea was not visible in the wedding photos. Instead, she was replaced by a radiant, confident, powerful woman. I couldn't get over how captivating she looked-- her own antonym. I was impressed by how successful, independent, and well-adjusted she seems to be, despite her famous/infamous parents (depending on which side you may take). I was impressed by the fact that she and her husband opted out of the three-ring-circus-celebrity-packed-event that they were expected to have and went with a more intimate affair, seemingly centered on a celebration of their love and commitment. I was impressed by the acceptance and blending of faiths and families. And yes, if I'm being honest, I was quite impressed with the Vera Wang gown.
I hope that inside Chelsea is celebrating like one of those guests on the old Jenny Jones "Look at me now!" shows. I also hope that through all of the scrutiny about her looks, she realized that her intelligence and strength were really attractive qualities, even if no one could see them in a tabloid photo. Her wedding spread in People was like her ten year class reunion with the media, and she came out smelling like roses and looking like a million bucks. She gave hope to those of us who went through (or might still be in) ugly duckling phases that we can be beautiful Vera Wang clad swans someday and have dream weddings too, dangit!
Thank you, Chelsea Clinton, you made my day.
This is not about status or celebrity.
This is not even about a Vera Wang dress (although it was stunning).
This is about the lovely Chelsea Clinton and the fact that mentioning "lovely" and "Chelsea Clinton" in the same sentence used to make people smirk. It used to. This is about a girl who went through the most awkward of phases coming out on the other side of things. Score one for those of us who had braces or glasses or wore really high waisted pants or had big frizzy hair or were too skinny or too fat or too short or too tall or were told that we were too something or too everything.
I read this week's People today with a cover story about "Chelsea's Dream Wedding!" In the article, I was reminded of Chelsea's formidable years through a series of pictures of her life. The poor girl lived out her most awkard years in front of a merciless, looks-obsessed country. According to the media, everything about her was wrong-- her hair, her skin, her face, her body. Sure, she was not model material by any means, but the girl never signed up to be judged and picked apart like a piece of fried chicken at the Jackson County Fair. She was just a girl at the most unfortunate stage of her life thrust into a national spotlight.
That Chelsea was not visible in the wedding photos. Instead, she was replaced by a radiant, confident, powerful woman. I couldn't get over how captivating she looked-- her own antonym. I was impressed by how successful, independent, and well-adjusted she seems to be, despite her famous/infamous parents (depending on which side you may take). I was impressed by the fact that she and her husband opted out of the three-ring-circus-celebrity-packed-event that they were expected to have and went with a more intimate affair, seemingly centered on a celebration of their love and commitment. I was impressed by the acceptance and blending of faiths and families. And yes, if I'm being honest, I was quite impressed with the Vera Wang gown.
I hope that inside Chelsea is celebrating like one of those guests on the old Jenny Jones "Look at me now!" shows. I also hope that through all of the scrutiny about her looks, she realized that her intelligence and strength were really attractive qualities, even if no one could see them in a tabloid photo. Her wedding spread in People was like her ten year class reunion with the media, and she came out smelling like roses and looking like a million bucks. She gave hope to those of us who went through (or might still be in) ugly duckling phases that we can be beautiful Vera Wang clad swans someday and have dream weddings too, dangit!
Thank you, Chelsea Clinton, you made my day.
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