Vanity, yo

A few months ago, I saw a picture of myself where the only thing I noticed was that I really didn’t like my smile.

For as long as I’ve been conscious of my appearance, I’ve never been happy with the way my teeth look. Sure, it’s vanity but so what. Some people don’t like their elbows or the size of their head. For me – at this moment – it’s my teeth. They aren't terrible but there’s room for improvement. So I have decided to get them fixed. Bottomline: I want to have straighter teeth when I turn 40.

My dental situation is not unique. I’m sure there are lots of adults who consider orthodontics later in life. I actually visited an orthodontist about 15 years ago. But I was broke back then and came up with a looong list of things to do with the four-figure sum it was gonna take to do it right. Today, I’m more comfortable financially and want to finally get something done that my family couldn’t afford to do in my childhood.

2014 is a year of transition for us and I’ve made a personal goal to smile a lot more in this one life that I have. Getting my grille straightened out is part of that.

Here’s a nice “before” picture.

The next time you see me – and for the next 18 months – my teeth will be all kitted up. I’ll probably also be wearing my contacts a lot more. The thought of wearing braces AND glasses gives me flashbacks of the harsh middle-school social order.