The Leather Jacket You Don’t Want to Own
In 11th grade, we were assigned to write a persuasive paper on a topic of our choosing. I decided to write about the dangers of tanning, mostly to persuade my girlfriend of the time to stop doing it.
I cited facts and studies. I made a compelling argument weighing Risk against Reward. I wrote about how the Victorians associated fair skin with nobility and tanned skin with the lowly peasant class. (Mrs. Dodge, thanks for enduring my no-one-wants-to-hook-up-with-a-street-rat line of reasoning.)
Yeah. It didn’t work. Want to know why? Because of an American tradition as hideous and barbaric as it is ancient: the mother-cussing prom.
Dear 16-Year-Old Me
I can’t always find easy answers to your questions. We may never know exactly why boobs are good or if animals can say thanks. But this isn’t one of those kinds of questions.
Is tanning bad for your skin? Is it detrimental to your health? Will tanning accelerate aging and make you look like an old leather jacket?
Yes. Unequivocally yes. Spread the freaking word.
Image via http://solarsystem.nasa.gov
