Now I've had one life experience I label as "the tanning bed incident". I also label it as "the week of burning hell" or "my 10-minute lapse in judgment". This sweet-talkin' (secretly bitter) man told me to stay ten minutes in a high-power bed and I ended up with blisters all over every inch of my body with nothing but some expired aloe from a vindictive red-head to heal the wounds. So this time I am commencing in some SERIOUS indoor tanning, and I decided to do it right. I gathered all my information, gathered the supplies, and found an old acquaintance to hook me up with a 1-month student-discounted membership to the Sun Factory.
While I don't glow in the dark anymore, I'm not particularly tan. (Though I must say that this little tanning foray did not go unnoticed by my friends and acquaintances.) One of my favorite parts about this process has been the responses I get from other people that concerns my "tanning" (might I mention that "pinking" is more accurate???)
From my oncology clinical teacher the day after a too-long stint in the cancer coffin... "Would you like to talk about anything? You look red."
to which I replied "No...it's my life." and responded with a blush that only deepened my pallor.
From that dude I have class with.. "Have you been tanning? You look tan. Are you going to the beach??"
While I responded with "I'm going to Texas," inside I was thinking, "Hooray!! I've been called TAN for the first time ever. Goal: attained."
My most favorite part has been the part where the **uNiVeRsE** has told me to stop. (Also known as Erica, B., Lili, Marcus, my mom, and the American Dermatological Association) Matter of fact, the VERY week I started clinicals I had a patient with melanoma that I had to take care of, and I was coerced into looking up the risk factors. and what are the risk factors you might ask? Blond hair, blue eyes, freckles, fair skin that burns easily, and multiple blistering sunburns before the age of 20. AKA: MEEE!!! You want to see what the risk factors for melanoma are!?!? picture of Jen. there ya go.
Also, ~right~ as I was pulling into the parking lot of the Sun Factory (aka Melanoma Factory) the commercial from the American Dermatological Association comes on telling me:
Don't be stupid with your skin,
It's the only skin you're in....
UV lamps from the tanning bed,
they can turn your skin beet red,
wrinkles come from the UV light,
and age spots make you a frightful sight.
UV light: it gets worse!
skin cancer is a wicked curse.
Don't be the one that's tan and dead,
Use your brain, use your head.
So lets settle the score...
Pros: not glowing in the dark, not having tan lines, those short-term feel good endorphins, and "ensuring I have plenty of time in the 'sun' so my body can make the vitamin D it needs. I mean, a relatively high percentage of Americans suffer from vitamin D deficiency, and I shan't be one of them " [that last one was my original justifications for trying tanning...]
and the Cons:
--that burnt feeling I get after staying in too long
--the "why are you pink??" comments after staying in too long
--skin not as smooth
--the risk of age spots that will "make me a frightful sight"
--the heightened risk of melanoma, since I am one all-encompassing risk factor (except for the family history part)
--costs money, and lets face it: I'm a poor college student.
So all-in-all...tanning: NOT WORTH IT. and I'm not keeping it in my life.
1 new thing down, 11 to go. maybe I will find some new things that I want to keep in my life...
So I shan't be the one that's tan and dead
I'll use my brain, use my head!!
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