Contrast this to my mom, who taught me how to shave my legs but who forbid me from “shaving above the knee.”

That ended when I went to school in shorts and the bullies saw my thigh hair glistening in the sun.

It ended two years later, when I met a cool girl who didn’t shave if she didn’t feel like it, rocking her hairy legs without a care.

I’m still not that bold, but I found a balance that works for me. Nobody else’s opinion matters.