I had been putting this day off for quite some time, always finding a reason to postpone the inevitable:
* I wanted to make a good, brace-free first impression in high school
* I didn’t feel like it. (I have yet to find anyone who has ever “felt like” braces.)
* I liked my smile, actually.
* I wouldn’t be able to chew gum.
Writing this now, only a couple of months into the whole thing, I am well aware that my decision to finally go for it could not have come at a less inopportune time.
With my position of gum reviewer for The Vigilant Monkey just getting started and, let’s not forget, my addiction to gum, shouldn’t I have waited longer to get braces? Perhaps.
But then again, if I had waited to get braces, I would be bothered even more later on knowing that I purposefully chose to wait longer than my sophomore year in high school to get the whole process started.
Obviously, I went for it. I remember sitting in the orthodontist’s office and asking, already knowing the answer, if I would be able to chew gum with braces. She said, as I expected, “No.” But that little word alone wasn’t going to stop me. I continued to ask around. 70% of the people surveyed who who have had braces say that I CAN chew gum with braces. I reported these scientifically accurate findings to my parents. They laughed…and said, “No.”
So seeing as how I won’t be writing gum reviews for quite some time, I’m going to give you an important tip to follow when trying to figure out which gum is best for you.
I know this goes against that whole “don’t judge a book by its cover” saying, but trust me on this one:
Judge a gum by its package.
That sounds HORRIBLE, I know, but with my experience and gum-loving nature, I know what I’m talking about.
Okay, so now this definitely sounds like I’m writing a retirement or farewell letter, but I’m not. It’s simply a break. Just a one-year-and-a-half break.
Chew on gum chewers. Chew on…
Soraya E. Navia, or "Soraya the Great" as people have been known to call her, is the coolest thing since dental floss. A sophomore in high school, she finds time for theatre, dance, piano, photography, writing, having stare-downs with her dog, and managing a social life. She's not sure what life was before the invention of the iPod or digital camera. Her favorite color is green, and her favorite smell is the smell of babies. In her spare time, Soraya can be found redecorating her room, singing at the top of her lungs, trying to figure out the human race, spontaneously combusting, and often achieving that goal.