Background

On 18th June 2013 I traveled half way around the world to a small town named Lewisburg in West Virginia, USA. This small town was my home for eight short (yet at the same time long) weeks, in a tent out in the mountains. I was hired this summer as a Camp Counselor at "Camp Alleghany for Girls". 

At Camp Alleghany for girls I taught Arts and Crafts to girls aged between eight and sixteen years old. This was a great learning experience for me as I have had an idea that I would like my career to venture down education. This summer has solidified those first ideas, I am now certain that I want a career working with children. I now need to decide if I would like to work in either Primary or Secondary education.. Decisions!

During Unit X for second year at university, I learnt how to make "suffolk puffs" during a workshop in "College One". I was eager to teach this to the children at camp because, not only is it a fairly basic sewing technique, but it is also something that all ages can participate in. (This was a constant struggle at camp; finding activities that suited all ages as the classes were mixed age groups)

Bringing the Suffolk Puff technique to Camp Alleghany was great for me as it meant that I could teach sewing to children who had never sewn before. It was fun teaching the other American counselors how to make Suffolk Puffs as well. I felt like I was bringing a part of British culture to America. 

At camp, everything is completely stripped back. Not only are you living in a tent, but there are rules such as "no make up" and "no hair dryers/straighteners". Another thing, (this wasn't a rule) clothes. At camp, things get wet. We were situated next to a river, and over night everything seemed to get damp if it hadn't in the day time. This was taken into consideration when finding clothes for the day. Hot and damp conditions meant that you wear "scruffy" clothes. Old Shorts and T-shirts. At first I did find it quite difficult to adjust to these rules. Wearing no make up and not being able to fix your hair the way that you want to can be a shock when you are used to doing these things every day at home. Stepping out of the shower and just letting your hair dry, your face breathe, felt alien to me. However, I did adjust eventually. 

It became apparent that I rely quite a lot on make up, clothes and hair in the "real world". Being stripped back of these things made me feel vulnerable. It got me thinking about make up in modern day society. Why do we wear it?