... the fairest of them all?

Living in Chicago, the third-biggest city in the United States, is quite an experience. (Yeah, we lost "second-city" status to LA, but only in statistics, not in spirit!) As a college student, I rely on public transportation and my own two feet for most of my daily trips. This is a great way to save money and get exercise. However, it's made me extremely self-conscious about my appearance. Not self-conscious in a shy, don't-look-at-me-way, but self-conscious in a "alright, I probably rate an 8 today, I should work on that for next week!" way. The biggest problem is the mirrored windows that line almost every street in the Loop. When I am running errands for my boss, I can't help but stare at my reflection as I pass by, taking notice how unflattering these jeans really are, how lame my walk looks, how immature my unironed shirt comes off, and how my haircut belongs in the suburbs. It's prompted me to spend way too much money on jeans ($110, ben sherman, availabe at Macy's) and pay someone $50 to cut my hair (salon blonde, on north ave. in wicker park) which is a lot compared to my regular $13 cut at supercuts/hair cuttery/great clips, but less than what my roommate pays for his cut. I've also spent time trying to walk differently. This is the weirdest side effect of living in the city. Its also a little uncomfortable, but after doing it for several long walks on my way to job interviews or to the post office, I can't tell the difference anymore between my regular walk and my "sexy, mature, city-resident" walk. When I switch back and forth I get confused and eventually give up. Can you really train yourself to walk differently all the time? Or does it always have to be a conscious effort? I don't know. But I do know my ass looks better in the mirrored windows when I'm doing my "sexy, mature, city-resident" walk so it pays off, even if I'm the only one who notices. Well, me and the people working on the other side of the window. Maybe one of them will ask for my number soon! haha well not until I start ironing my shirts that is.