Don’t settle for beige when you really want sparkles
Last weekend, my step-daughter Madison, my twin nieces, and my sister-in-law Katrina all had a girls trip to the nail salon. Madison had her big dance recital, and has a birthday coming up, so it felt like the perfect excuse for a little pampering.
Katrina and I booked ourselves much needed pedicures. The girls got mini-manicures. And let me tell you, they were living their best lives. Giggling, sipping overpriced refresher drinks, chatting with the nail technicians about birthdays, and questioning why a place called “July Nails” would be open in June. The logic didn’t land for them. Fair.
Katrina picked a nice summer pink. I went with a coral because, obviously, summer. When the girls were asked to pick a colour, they were fired up.
There were sparkles. There were matte finishes. There were pastels, neons, metallics. So many beautiful options, and they loved them ALL.
Gold, pink, yellow, purple, teal. Why the hell not? They had TEN fingers. Ten tiny canvases. What a ridiculous adult concept to pick just one.
We left the salon with all smiles. Katrina and I rocking our summer toes, and the girls proudly waving around 30 rainbow-painted fingernails like a pack of glittery unicorns.
Later that day I started thinking…‘When did I stop choosing a rainbow of colours?’
I was trying to remember when I started opting for “normal” or “neutral” instead of whatever lit me up.
If I actually picked my favourite colours, it’d probably be a combination of white, brown, green, black, blue, and yellow. None of which look particularly nice together. But that would’ve never stopped six-year-old me. So why does it stop grown-up me?
For the record, I don’t plan on getting a full rainbow mani anytime soon. But that’s not the point. The whole thing got me thinking:
How many other things in my life am I doing the “adult” way instead of the authentic way?
Somewhere along the road to adulting, I started making choices based on what looked good, felt safe, or would be acceptable. We all do, some more than others. We want to meet expectations. We want to be responsible. We want to fit in.
But damn, I miss the freedom of wanting something just because, and going after it without caring how ridiculous it looked.
When I was a kid and couldn’t decide on a nail colour, I picked them all.
These days, I’d probably choose beige and then feel weirdly guilty about it.
I’m not saying adulthood is all bad. There’s a lot I love about where I am now. But sometimes I wonder if we trade too much joy for control, or for an image we think we need to maintain.
And maybe it’s time to trade a bit of that back.
Greg (who geeks out on the research side of our work) found a word for this. Of course he did. Neoteny.
It means “the retention of juvenile traits into adulthood” and turns out, it’s actually good for us. It keeps us curious. Keeps our brains growing. Keeps us open to new things.
I’m not saying I want a glittery unicorn manicure (today anyway). But I am saying I want to stay connected to the part of me that doesn’t always choose the sensible option. The part that’s playful, curious, and a little bit ridiculous.
So yes, I left the salon with pretty toes. But I also left with a bigger ah-ha.
Be authentic. Be true to yourself. And maybe, just maybe, paint your damn nails all the colours if that’s what you really want.
Because life’s too short for beige when you really wanted sparkles.
“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”
