Thirteen Year Old Sydney Thiemann Short Story

640 Words2 Pages

Curling her eyelashes and applying foundation. Winging her eyes with liquid liner, painting her lips with a blood red lipstick, it was very noticeable with her fair skin, which was what she was aiming for. She woke up extra early to adorn herself with these accessories. A young woman, about thirteen or fourteen, getting ready for school. It was just another day in school but the young woman wanted to do this, for herself. She was taking a big risk; she would learn the hard way. Young people all around the world experience change and try to find themselves. When middle school is a time for people to search for their identity, negative comments from their peers can have a devastating impact. Thirteen-year-old Sydney Thiemann experienced this firsthand when she got into an argument with a seventh grade boy. The argument began over the conjugation of Spanish verbs but ended with an inappropriate remark about her appearance and choice of makeup. Thiemann calmly walked away, …show more content…

Young people are finding their purpose in life, and if makeup is part of their journey, it should be accepted. The pressure to be pretty, thin, perfect, and smart are all felt by young women which could alter their journey to feel satisfied with who they are. There is a double standard shown in Sydney Thiemann’s remarks, “I feel like if girls have an interest in doing their makeup and experimenting with it and having fun, it’s the exact same thing as guys basically playing a sport. They can’t sit here and make fun of a girl for doing something she likes to do while the guys play basketball or football or something all the time.” Thiemann’s viewpoint identifies that young men are encouraged to have fun with their interests, but young women are discouraged to explore their interests if society labels them as

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