"At Seventeen"

"At Seventeen" by Janis Ian is one of those old songs I used to hear all the time growing up but never really paid a lot of attention to.  I had always heard that Janis Ian was a great songwriter.  I listened to her sing this song this morning and realized how beautiful her voice is, too.

While I have always had blonde hair and blue eyes, I can relate to this song.  I wasn't one of the popular girls in school.  I didn't really date until I was seventeen and even then, you could almost not even call it dating.  I didn't get serious with a man until I met Bill when I was almost 29.  He wasn't my first boyfriend, but he was my first serious relationship.  Luckily, I hit the jackpot the first time.

I definitely recall the lonely Valentine's Days and watching my friends and contemporaries plan to go to the homecoming dance or prom.  I only managed one prom myself, and it was with my then ex boyfriend.  It wasn't a great experience.  I thought I was going to die a virgin.  This is a pretty poignant song for anyone who can't really enjoy being young because of severe appearance deficits.  I don't think I had them... I just had a personality that people thought was odd.

Anyway, this song really resonates with me.

I decided to try it today and I think it turned out fairly nicely.