This post might sound very odd, but it’s an imitation of a poem we read today, called “Girl” by a poet named Jamaica Kincaid. This is a list of various pieces of advice my parents have given me over the years.
Cross your legs when you where a skirt, or rather, cross your legs or keep them close no matter what you wear; this is how to make pasta sauce; this is how to roast garlic; how to salt the pasta water; make sure you always write your name on your papers, even if you aren’t turning them in; remember your daddy loves you, and that is always the right answer; this is how to punch a boy when he hurts you; these are the other situations in which violence is called for; this is how to know when to let go; how to move on; it doesn’t count if you shower without soap; this is how to wash your hair to keep it from collecting dandruff; this is how to rinse your hair to rid it of conditioner; this is why you shouldn’t call your brother a “turd”; never tell him he’s having PMS either; this is how to get along with someone you don’t like; this is how to get along with someone you do like; this is how to string words together around someone you love; always send a thank you card no matter what the occasion; this is how you tell time on an analog clock, and this is how to ignore it when you need to; his is how to run a lap, by starting slow and finishing fast; this is ow to write your name; this is why you shouldn’t use vulgar words, but these are the situations in which they’re acceptable; always do what you love, no matter what the numbers on the paychecks say; this is how to fill your car with gas, and how to wash the windows while you wait; this is how to install software, and how to click “agree” on the Terms and Conditions without even reading them; this is how you balance a checkbook; this is how to tell a boy to piss off; this is how to say no; this is how to not spend the entire day on the computer; wear panty hose with your homecoming dress, everyone else does; don’t draw on your arm; no, that’s not how babies are made, Anna is wrong; and this, this is how to put yourself first.
What advice have your parents given to you that’s stuck?
<3 from Oregon
