What’s the best thing your mother ever gave you for the holidays? As a young tween, I was deep in a punk phase that I insisted was not a phase. Of course, I didn’t know that having my parents buy me a Ramones T-shirt from the mall made me kind of a poser and Avril Lavigne was actually not punk at all. But I did the best with what I had as a girl emerging in the early 2000s: gURL.com message boards, the infamous centerfold from Seventeen magazine with an infographic titled Are You Emo? and the ubiquitous sounds of Sum41 on Live 105.3 (shout out Bay Area). One year, my grandma presented me with a beautifully wrapped box and inside was a studded cuff, shiny and new. She had gotten it from the "Satanic store” at her local Pennsylvania mall. My Irish Catholic grandmother, who always wore little scarves around her neck, crisp blouses and Keds, went into a Hot Topic and had them gift wrap a studded bracelet for her granddaughter.
A couple Christmases later, I needed Uggs to wear with my Abercrombie denim skirt, and my mom happily obliged. No matter what phase I’ve been in, my family has always supported me fully. I’m grateful I got to experiment without criticism before arriving to my final form. That’s probably the best gift I could have ever been given growing up.
Are you an early shopper or a last-minute miracle worker? Last minute, for sure. I always think I’m going to, like, make soaps or something? But I never do that and never have. I’m not sure why I always think I’ll be a different person by the end of the year.
What’s at the top of your MOTHER wish list this year? The gift card! I am chronically indecisive and this gives me all the options.
Have you earned your place on the nice list? I am literally such a sweetie.
