Friday, January 29, 2010

Pleasantly Nondescript

On Facebook in the past couple days, people’s statuses have been popping up with an inviation to change your profile picture to someone famous that others have said you look like, and then pass it on. I don’t think anyone has ever said I look like anyone other than “someone I know.” I get that all the time. I must have the same generic, run-of-the-mill, German/Scots-Irish/Anglo mutt look that everyone knows someone else who has. Wow. Could that grammar be any worse?

While wandering around campus my freshman year of college I remember thinking that there must really be a finite number of possible combinations of human features. Everyone I met looked like someone I already knew and most people who met me knew someone back in their home town who looked just like me. That could, of course, be because I went to a Lutheran College and was surrounded by a whole lotta Lutherans. Who knows.

My husband looks like LOTS of famous people. In the 20 years I’ve known him, these are just a few of the people others have said Dan resembles: Paul McCartney, Bob Geldoff, Al Pacino, Dave Grohl and Robert Downey Jr. Now, with the exception of Sir Bob, these are high compliments and I’m tickled to be the wife of such blatant eye-candy.

But me? I look like my grandma Fergus. You know, Hilda. Hilda Anna Wilhelmina Markworth Fergus. What, you didn’t know Hilda? Your loss.

When I was a little girl and would shake my head until my tow-head blonde hair was a disastrous mess, my older brother told me I looked like Debbie Harry. I thought that was pretty cool. But aside from the mop on my head, there's not much resemblance. Oh, and I'm no longer blonde.

When Star Wars came out, and, more importantly, when Star Wars action figures came out, Princess Leia wasn’t on the first run so I got Chewbacca. And became known as Chewbekah. Not that I looked like him, but whatever. Or maybe I did. Or still do.

Yeah, I'm pretty happy just looking like me. And that's a pretty big statement for someone who had a painfully bad self-image most of her life. I love having my grandma's nose and my mother's eyes and all those little genetic tweaks that make me recognizable to those who know and love me. Famous people, schmamous schmoeple.

So I chose Chewbacca for my profile picture. Good old Chewbacca. He’s got lovely hair.

1 comment:

  1. I think you look like you and I think you look beautiful!

    ReplyDelete