Oh dear heavens, I'm watching Steel Magnolias-- peplums, pastels, big hair, and bows (ass and hair) galore. It's like a smorgasbord of every bad southern 80s fashion tragedy.

"My colors are blush and bashful."

"Your colors are PINK and PINK."

I've never shaved my head but I did buzz it once by accident. I thought the guard was longer... it was 1/4". My mother had a hissy fit (I was 27 at the time). Not my best look ever, but I liked all the head rubs I got.

I went to Governor's School, a six week summer camp where you could specialize in one of 9 or 10 subjects (French was mine) and also learn about philosophy and social issues. It was REVELATORY. Smart people not ashamed to be smart! Allowed to be other things besides smart! Lordy, was I miserable at high school after that, especially since I went before junior year and most everyone else were rising seniors. I stayed up all hours talking to my roommate(and got very sick due to sleep dep), played beach volleyball everyday, became a fierce player of Egyptian Rat Screw, kissed two boys (both of whom dissed me, the jerks), watched a hell of a lot of music videos (that was the summer of November Rain), and yes, learned quite a lot of French. Good freaking times.

We don't have summer camps, really. There are a few, but it's not a British tradition. We spent summers with our grandparents who lived at the seaside, being taken to donkey sanctuaries.

There was an unsuccessful attempt, one Easter break (two-week school holiday), to send me and my sister to a sports week at the local leisure centre. My sister did gymnastics and had a fantastic time. I eventually discovered, to my great relief, that the less cool kids were doing art and crafts in a tiny room upstairs. I was not surviving well.

OMG Erin, were you also a JCLer?

Another JCLer here, at least during the two years I took Latin. Our school was something of a force at state conventions, mainly because Mrs. Silness was such a live-wire teacher that she had no trouble keeping classes interesting. My Certamen specialty was history, but I could at least pitch in just about anywhere.

It was REVELATORY. Smart people not ashamed to be smart! Allowed to be other things besides smart!

Science camp was similar in that regard. Definitely a taste of the better aspects of uni (which at least one h.s. teacher had promised, that as miserable as I was there, I would love being in college).

I was the only kid at our school to go, but I went 2 years because I had such a good time. It was the only camp I ever went to, besides Bible camp when I was a kid, which was Arts&Crafts, with a leetle mellow Jesus singing Kumbayya by the campfire.

I never went to camp. If I had gone to camp, my only option would have been bible camp.

which at least one h.s. teacher had promised, that as miserable as I was there, I would love being in college

Exactly.

They're charging $500 tuition for GS this year, which sucks, and they cut the number of attendees. Stupid budget issues. I hope there are some scholarships.

I wasn't raised in a very religious household, but for some reason we always went to Jewish summer camps. The JCC day camps when we were younger, and then Camp Harlam when we were old enough for sleepaway camps.

I pretty much hated everything about camp except for color war because that was when the kayaks came out.

EM had the full Notes on Camp experience going away every summer from the time she was 4 until she was in her early teens.

I didn't go away to camp except for a three day Sea Camp thing in the Florida Keys that we did in sixth grade. That was very cool, even though I got jellyfish stings, and it really changed a lot of dynamics within the class to have a sleepaway together.

I was in a gifted program when I was in 5th and 6th grade and that was my first real exposure to being around big bunches of smart kids.

If I had gone to camp, my only option would have been bible camp

Those were the only camps I went to. Every summer from jr. high through 10th grade. I refused after that and luckily my parents didn't insist.

Re: Hair: I shave about 1/mo in the winter. 1/week in the summer. The only place where my hair grows out of control is my eyebrows. I wax them every time I get a hair cut (every 7 weeks) and pluck once per week in addition to that. I had them threaded once last summer and that was the Best Thing Ever. I need to go back and do that more. It lasted longer than waxing and hurt less.