DEAR HARRIET: I allow my 13 year old to wear makeup and lipstick around the house. She’s been experimenting with my makeup since she was a baby.
She recently wore lipstick to school, and I got a call from her teacher telling me about it and saying it was inappropriate. There is no dress code that says whether students can wear makeup, but I do know that her school is strict. I saw her that day and she wasn’t overly made up.
I don’t want to suppress my daughter’s creativity and self-expression, but I also don’t want school to get too close to her. What should I do?
Following the rules
BEST THE RULES FOLLOWING: Many young girls wear makeup; yours is no exception in our society.
What you can teach your daughter is what is appropriate for a girl her age during the day, which is minimal makeup preferably with a clear lip gloss, something that looks nice but doesn’t draw too much attention to the fact that she wears makeup on has. the first place.
Explain that the fun, more experimental things she does with makeup should be reserved for at home or with her friends on weekends.
By the way, this advice is also good for adults. Wearing too much makeup can be a distraction if you want to be taken seriously.
If your daughter’s school remains adamant that she doesn’t wear makeup at all, you’ll have to decide if it’s worth fighting them out on principle or reserving makeup for after-school hours.
DEAR HARRIET: As someone tasked with interviewing people who have stories that may not particularly interest me, I often struggle to connect with my subjects.
How on earth can I be interested in something that I feel has no real personal meaning? It can be challenging to come up with a thoughtful question that leads to the best possible story outcome.
As an interviewer, what tools or methods do you use to make the stories you tell stand out? How do I determine what makes a topic’s story interesting to others, even if it isn’t interesting to me?
Disinterested
DEAR UN INTERESTED: This is a difficult situation that is actually common for journalists and other writers.
You are lucky if you can only write about the things that fascinate you. Usually, especially at the beginning of a career, you have to write about all sorts of topics that seem mundane or pointless to you.
The best way to navigate those stories – and any of them really – is to first identify your audience. Who reads your story? What are those people worried about? Why is this topic important to their lives? It could be for serious reasons or possibly for fun.
Determine what motivates readers to search for your story. Then write to that audience. When you take the approach with which you serve your reader, it will be easier for you to arouse interest in yourself for the topic at hand.
Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people achieve and activate their dreams. Inquiries may be sent to [email protected] or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.
