It is amazing how we can go our whole lives without doing things
that other people do on a daily basis. There is a wide range of these everyday
activities. One can be as simple as trying sushi. For someone else, their
“adventure” might be going on an airplane for the first time. This scale can
include the less glamorous activities in life, such as looking at the “help
wanted” ads in the newspaper. But not in my case. My activity that I did for
the first time was probably the most glamorous of them all. I got my nails
done.
Never in my 17 (almost 18) years of life, have I ever
gotten my nails done professionally. Yes, I paint them every Sunday while I
watch Keeping up with the Kardashians, and sometimes I add designs from
Pinterest (depending on how much time I have). But a couple days ago, my mom
and I set out to get acrylic nails. This would be my mother’s third time
getting her nails done and my first time. The fellow teenagers I go to school
with, the moms I work with, the stay at home mom whom I babysit for, the middle
school friends of my sister, everywhere I look, I see acrylic nails. I have
always wanted them, but thought it was ridiculous to spend nearly $50 for
people to do something I could do at home. Now when I do my nails, they by no
means look as pristine as the professionals who did my nails this weekend.
The process was long, it took about an hour and a half.
There are upwards to 15 steps in the process of getting acrylic fingernails put
on. Up until now, I thought acrylic nails were glued on, that they were fake
nails and would eventually would chip off. But they are not fake, they are
almost painted on. I guess one could consider the work of fingernails an art
(especially the cool designs some people are able to do).
I watched as the experts tackled my hideous fingernails (that I
had been biting for the past couple of weeks due to stress). My mom was on the
other side of the room, getting the same thing done. She was done before I was.
As we were leaving the establishment, I kept asking her if her nails felt funny.
My real nails felt tight and constricted and tender. They were very sensitive,
to the point where it was a challenge to get dressed. My nails were not
prepared for the awkward feeling they would endure during this first week of
revival.
I am constantly playing with my new nails. This is a new
sensation, one that I was not prepared for. I never would have thought I love
my acrylic nails as much as I do. It has come to the point now where I examine
people's hands to see if their fingernails look as delicate and untouched as
mine. As you probably guessed, no one else's nails even come close to my French
tip acrylic nails. At first, I was awkward when I would use my hands- very
cautions not to scratch or mess up the artwork (I took as good of care as my
nails as some people do their expensive sports cars).
The thing is, there is
nothing special about acrylic nails. Thousands of women get acrylic nails, and
some never give their natural nails the light of day. For me, it was an
experience that was so fulfilling and gratifying, that I don’t know if I ever
want to get my nails done again. I don’t want to tarnish the experience I had.
Well, who am I kidding? Of course I will get them done again, they look so pretty!
