Although that had not yet occurred, Jim had frequently been in her dreams, and he was often in her daydreams when she was entertaining fantasies.
Christine had continued to think that Jim was the most attractive young man that she had ever seen. She loved his easy smile and his dark, smoldering eyes. She found his physique appealing, and she loved to look at him whenever she thought no one would notice. She respected him for being a good student and athlete, and she also liked the fact that he seemed modest, confident, and kind.
Over all, she felt that Jim Pearson was the sort of person that she could love for a lifetime. She did not know what he thought about her, but somehow, she was going to have to find out. Many of the girls thought he was great, but none of them had taken any action to become better acquainted with him. She knew that she didn’t want to be too forward, but she needed to do something—and do it before much more time had passed. She frequently found herself wondering what she could do that might bring them together so that a relationship could develop.
When Helen was not in their room, Christine often spent some time looking in the mirror. She was interested in her appearance, and she wanted to be as attractive as possible. Some of the girls had said that she was good-looking—which was quite different from what they had said in earlier years. When she wore her school blazer or dressed up for church, she did think she looked quite nice. She thought that she looked more mature than many of the other girls in the dorm, but she was, after all, now eighteen years old and in her last year at St. Mark’s.
When she looked in the mirror, she could see that her body was becoming more mature. Some of the girls in the dorm had bigger breasts, but this was not something that bothered her. She thought that hers were well shaped, and she was satisfied with her general dimensions. She could see that exercise in her physical education class and her participation on the girls’ volleyball team had helped her to lose some weight and tone certain muscles.
Her legs had become shapelier, and her waist seemed about right. She had always enjoyed food, and although she had never been overweight, she could easily remember when she had not been as fit. Now that she had a slim waist, she wanted to keep it that way.
She considered her shoulder-length hair to be an asset. It was dark, had body, and was manageable. She liked arranging it in various ways, but she only did so when she was alone. She hadn’t wanted to invite comments from the other girls, so she had not chosen to wear her hair in an unusual way outside of her room.
The same was true of her makeup. She had acquired a bit of makeup, and she enjoyed putting it on, from time to time, but she had always taken it off before it would be noticed by others. She had mixed feelings about makeup, for although she thought it could enhance her appearance, she knew that her mother did not approve of wearing makeup or jewelry. Mother had not wanted her to forsake the standards with which she had been raised. Mother had always encouraged her to act like a lady and not involve herself in things that might make her seem cheap or worldly. Christine realized that she was still coming to terms with certain differences that she had with her mother. She wasn’t anxious to be rebellious and abandon certain standards, yet she was convinced that a bit of makeup did enhance her appearance. She also believed that one could wear jewelry tastefully. Christine knew that she was not one who wanted to draw attention to herself, and moreover, she knew that she would not go out in public and do anything that would compromise her values or bring disgrace upon herself.
Although she thought that makeup enhanced her appearance, she had been getting along without it. Fortunately, her skin was smooth and without blemishes. She had her mother’s fair skin, and she had found that makeup gave her face more color. She had often wished that her skin had more color. She had always admired those who could tan easily, but her efforts in tanning had been unsuccessful, thus far. If she were to ever have a tan, she knew that she would have to acquire it gradually.
Whenever, Christine studied her appearance in the mirror, she concluded that her looks were quite ordinary. Her face was oval shaped, and her chin, ears, and nose were unremarkable. She had a rather high forehead and eyebrows that made her face seem symmetrical. Her lips were nicely formed, and her teeth were nearly perfect, which was remarkable, considering the fact that she’d had very little dental attention. Her neck was a bit long, perhaps, but she imagined that certain kinds of necklaces could make her seem quite regal.
If anything made her face unique, it was her large almond-shaped eyes. She knew that there were times when they appeared slightly crossed, but she was not really sure when this occurred. She wished that this idiosyncrasy could be changed, but there seemed little chance of that happening. She had not forgotten that some had made unkind remarks about her eyes. She could only hope that her little idiosyncrasy would not prove to be a liability that would affect her life in some adverse way.
Christine was used to seeing her face, of course, and she had not thought that her appearance was very remarkable, but when some of the girls had recently told her that she was good-looking, she had begun to reappraise her appearance. Was there something that she could do with her hair or makeup that would make her more attractive? Did she have the potential of being beautiful? She wasn’t sure.
She had heard it said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Mother had remarked that “beauty is only skin-deep.” By that, she seemed to be saying that while physical beauty might seem important, there are other qualities that may be more important than one’s degree of attractiveness. She knew that her mother would have been more concerned that she develop characteristics that revealed a kind of inner beauty.
One’s personality was a reflection of one’s interests, talents, and values. Integrity, morality, decency, faithfulness, honesty, kindness—and other qualities—were indicators of things that should be seen in one’s inner beauty. Mother’s advice had included some very important admonitions. She had said things like “Always act like a lady.” Another bit of advice was to “never do anything for which you would be ashamed.” She felt it was important to treat everyone with kindness, and never compromise one’s Christian values. Christine knew that her mother had offered good advice, and she had to respect her for practicing what she preached.
Recently, Christine and Helen had been talking about appearances, and Christine had quoted her mother’s remark that “beauty is only skin-deep.”
Helen had laughed and responded, “Well, that’s deep enough to satisfy most guys, isn’t it!” The remark had gotten Christine to thinking. Physical beauty did seem to matter. She knew that part of her attraction to Jim Pearson had to do with his physical appearance. It seemed that physical beauty and so-called inner beauty were both important. Realizing this, Christine resolved to begin a kind of self-improvement program where she would work on both her inner qualities and her physical appearance.
Christine had noticed that a smile really helps to enhance one’s appearance. Certainly, Jim’s smile was a part of his appeal. So, when no one was around, Christine sometimes stood before a mirror and practiced smiling. Her natural smile was pleasant enough, but she had decided that she ought to smile more frequently. She wanted a smile that was warm and spontaneous, not one that seemed silly or insincere. Although she had nice teeth, she preferred a smile that raised the corners of her mouth a bit without showing her teeth. She had soon grown to like a rather demure half smile which she came to think of as her Mona Lisa smile.
When she was standing before a mirror, it was fun to clown a bit. She could practice various expressions, and before long, she had a small repertoire which could be used for various occasions. It was fun to practice looks that showed contentment, amusement, and delight—as well as surprise, shock, or fear. However, such expressions were theatrical and essentially useless. Nevertheless, she enjoyed this harmless pastime before a mirror, and she occasionally found herself wondering if she might have a talent for acting.
Smiling seemed to be one thing that she could do to improve her appearance. If she perfected her smile and worked on her personality, that could help her to seem more attractive and perhaps more popular. In time, she might be courageous enough to modify her appearance to some extent by changing her hairstyle, wearing different clothes, or experimenting