Shanice "I Love Your Smile"

"Don't look at me when you smile. Those crooked teeth make me sick." Who do you think uttered those caustic words to me? No, it wasn't the neighborhood bully or even my brother. It also wasn't some kid at school. Nope, those words stuck me in the face during dinner one night from my grandfather. My grandpa was a man who didn't mince words. He spoke his mind and occasionally stepped on toes. At the time, Grandpa was adamant I get braces and uttered the phrase: "Get that kid braces!" nearly every time my parents and I were within earshot of him. My parents eventually agreed and not because my grandpa offered to pay for them.

Whereas most 7th graders were getting their braces off, but I was just getting them put on and wasn't happy about it. I didn't have terrible teeth, but they did need alignment. My biggest fear was getting head gear -- proudly worn by nerdy characters in many 1980s sitcoms. This fear led me to call the Orthodontist's office where I pretended to be a curious parent. I eventually hung up when the receptionist peppered me with questions about my identity. Despite my objections, I wore braces all the way until my sophomore year of high school (September 21, 1992 to be exact). As fate would have it, nearly the day after I had my braces removed (and confidence restored), my hormones decided to flare up and enlisted numerous pimples and white heads to participate in driving my confidence way back down.

While I never fully forgave my grandfather for making me feel so ugly during a time when we all felt our ugliest, I did later thank my grandparents for reminding my parents to get my teeth fixed.

Today, whenever I watch TV, I feel like I'm bombarded with TV commercials for people with "missing or failing teeth" and I'm thrilled to have those days in my past. Grandpa could've change the way he delivered his message, but whatever...