01 02 03 Eat. Pray. WOD.: Don't tell me what to do 04 05 15 16 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 31 32 33

Don't tell me what to do

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Recently I started wearing red lipstick. Not like, sheer red lip gloss. Like, RED. LIPSTICK.

see?
And I feel pretty great about it. Not only does it make me feel awesome, my beloved grandma Nancy wore red lipstick all the time and it makes me feel like I'm channeling her. And she was amazing so that's great news.

But I got mad yesterday.
And here's why:

I'm minding my own business at the check out line at the HEB and a guy remarks to me, "a little dressed up?"
I'm looking at my outfit like, "um, no."
He's like, "it's just that the lipstick you're wearing. It's a lot. You probably shouldn't wear it. I don't like it."
Me: *flames flying out of my ears* That's a good thing. Red doesn't really seem like it'd be your color.


OKAY, HERE'S THE THING: if you don't like bright red lipstick, guy, then don't wear it.
It is absolutely not your place nor any of your business what I, or anyone else, chooses to put on their body.  I am not here for your viewing pleasure.

And then I started thinking about it. And about how many times people have told me that I should/shouldn't do something because THEY like/don't like it.

How many times someone has said,
"you shouldn't wear that dress"
"you shouldn't be blonde"
"red isn't your color"
"don't get too muscular"
"don't lift too much"

And the thing is, I'm not asking for their opinion.
I'm not saying, "hey, I'm thinking about wearing red lipstick, what do you think?" I'M WEARING IT ALREADY.
This is not an invitation for your unsolicited opinion about what you prefer me to do/wear/look like.
I'm wearing it/doing it because IIIIIII like it and IIIIIIII want to.
And if I had always listened to the people who told me "you shouldn't" or "don't", I'd probably never accomplish anything I wanted to.

After talking it over with Mama Nancy, I've decided that there's only one good response to people who tell me, "don't..." or "you shouldn't...", etc.

So the next time someone tells me "you shouldn't wear red lipstick",
my only response will be a big smile and then to say "or else, what?"

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