round two.

So, I am about to be twenty-two, and I will be getting a full set of shiny, metal braces for a second time.

When I first got the news that Invisalign was not for me and it was now or never if I ever wanted to be happy with my smile, it took everything in me not to start crying in the middle of the dentists' office--and I am not a crier.

I am about to enter my last semester of college and the last thing I want is a mouth of metal for my graduation photos, my big brother's wedding and the photos that will freeze my face in time over the next 18 months. But after a few months of over-dramatic 'mourning', as I like to refer to it, I've decided to suck it up and get a little bit of perspective. I am not losing a limb, burying a loved one or moving out onto the streets--I am getting a second chance at a perfect smile, so I need to learn to live with a year and a half of discomfort and inconvenience.

I had braces for four years, from the ages of 12 to right before I turned 16, but according to my dentist, my then-orthodontist didn't know what he was doing. I HATE my smile, more than most people know, so there is a "it was worth it" at the end of all this silly darkness I'm creating.

So, if you'll let me, I'd like to use this as a space to vent, ask questions, find some braced friends, and, while I'm at it, find an excuse to blog. See, I'm a budding journalist, finishing my last semester of j-school, and for the last six years that I've known all I want to do is write, I've had trouble focusing on one subject long enough to make a good read out of it.

So let's have some fun!

M