I never understood my mother's strong aversion to pageantry of any sort when I was a kid. While my friends contested in my school's beauty and brain's pageant, I braved the waters of spelling bees, recitals and math competitions. Now, let's get one thing straight, the recitals were the only things I ever won. I didn't make it past second round in the math! However, I learnt a valuable lesson. "Not to rely on my face". I learnt I should rely on my head instead. Now I'm older, I realize why she did it. I would have probably ended up a VERY vain person. This didn't stop me cheering my friends though! They were awesome people! Now, I find myself tending towards the rougher, more manual things in life. I don't care for make up or even lip balm. However, I'm far from a tomboy. What am I trying to say? My mother taught not to rely on my face, and I'm proud of it.