Reasons to Wear Lipstick.

It's a peculiar thing being a single mom, 30, and a first year medical student. At the med school parties, I'm 8 years older than everyone. In the hospital, I'm 8 years behind on my training than physicians my own age. At my kid's daycare, I am that parent that hasn't a clue it was my turn to pay for pizza Friday, or it's the teachers birthday. The other non-traditional parents in my class live with supportive spouses, so it is hard to fully relate to anyone. I like the uniqueness of my life, and on multiple occasions do classmates and strangers tell me how inspiring I am. But, I also admit it is quite lonely.  I moved into a new apartment with my 2 and 3 year-old last year. It was the first time I had to live alone with two toddlers. My life was study, change diapers, study, take the kids to beach, study, clean, study, yell at toddlers to stop drawling on the walls, study... It was a crazy adjustment, but I rocked it, mostly, after I found a good balance between those two heavy identities of mum and med student. (Finding that balance took a lot of tears, complete break downs, sleepless nights, fits of being woken by crying toddlers at 4am before a final, lots of use of a babysitter etc. etc). After three months of nothing but late night study sessions in the library, alternating with being Mom, I wanted an escape. Something fun. Something easy. Something to take my mind off of my chaotic life and make me feel like a normal human again. So I got on Tinder. Yes, that awful addicting dating app/hook up site for people like me who are incapable of meeting someone the old fashion way through mutual friends or some serendipitous moment in a coffee shop. The swiping happened, the chatting started, and the harmless fun of it was a light and easy way to wind down at the end of the night. Like how normal people watch TV, I ask completely random attractive men about their lives. I finally got ballsy enough to meet these completely random attractive men in real life. Of course only on weekends after tests when I didn't have to study as much. My basic day to day attire was messy bun and yoga pants, so it was so nice to wear real clothes again! I went Salsa dancing on the beach with a CT surgeon, played board games at a bar with a teacher, picnicked by the water with wine and a book with an IT guy, watched a play with a lawyer, drank more wine and watched the sunset with a pediatrician. It had been 5 years since I dated, and the timing of course is terrible as being a mom and med student makes an impossible girlfriend. But the experience, fun, and connections are just what I need to take me out of my diaper/molecular biology bubble.

Turns out some of my classmates are also on Tinder, so now study breaks consist of swiping and comparing baes (yes I started saying bae, I hang out with 22 year olds). Definitely no Mr. Right in the near future, but I will update y'all if anything crazy happens. Not crazy like the time my date showed up hammered after 5 shots of Whiskey. Just hoping for more wine, sunsets, good conversations, and a reason to wear lipstick.

What are y'alls reasons to wear lipstick?