💋 My Eternal Hickey
I have a birthmark on the right side of my neck that looks like a hickey. When I was like, eleven years old, I used to think it looked like a monkey or a clover. Then someone asked me if it was a hickey by the locker hallway in eighth grade, and I had no idea what that was. A teacher happened to be passing by. “I’ll teach you what a hickey is later,” she said before I even had the chance to respond. The fuck? or rather, The heck? I thought (since I didn’t curse back then).
But really, the fuck? Honestly that’s kinda hot but weird af. I don’t remember which teacher it was. I’m not even sure she was a teacher—she seemed more like one of those substitutes who was only there temporarily. She was certainly an adult though. She probably had nothing to lose. Not to mention it was around the time I was trying to figure out my sexuality, so I was just feeling reaaally confused.
I wonder how many people I’ve met have seen it thinking, “Who’d that girl hook up with this time?” On one hand, I’m thinking, Fuck y’all and your prejudiced mindsets. On the other hand, I can’t blame them because I’d probably wonder the same if I weren’t me. It’s kinda funny. Either way, I don’t care.
Maybe some people think I’m always taken because of my perpetual hickey birthmark. So they either have a wild perception of me or never shoot their shot. That would be kinda sad if it were the latter.
Most of the time, you can’t see it because the right side of my hair usually covers it. When I tie my hair up, it’s GG. I usually wear my hair down, but back then when I had fencing practice I would have to tie it up because I sweat a ton when I work out. Imagine all those parents shaking their heads inside at my fencing meets. Kids these days, they’d think to themselves.
I think real hickeys look scary as fuck. They’re much more bloody and bruise-like, and they remind me of the Pointillism art movement we learned about in class. They’re also kind of difficult to cover. Here are the top three ways I learned to hide them in my wee-ol high school days:
- Stick a spoon in a freezer for a couple of minutes. Then gently press against the area.
- Use concealer.
- Wear a scarf.
3 is sus if it’s the summer and the rest of your body is showing bare skin. 2’s most effective, but if you sweat throughout the day, the concealer will wear off. 1 works somewhat but takes a while, and if your parents are home, they might be wondering why the hell you’re pressing a spoon against your neck.
TLDR; stop the hickeys. They’re so middle school. You’re literally suctioning your partner’s skin like an octopus. We’re not filming a hentai anime here. This ain’t Season 3 of Degrassi either. If you’re gonna do it, at least don’t do it around the neck.
Anyway, back to my birthmark. It’s been there for as long as I can remember, and it was much darker in elementary school but has gradually faded over time. It’s not leaving anytime soon.
It’s oddly shaped. If only it were in a more wholesome place. But I kinda like it.