THE INSIDER PATTY UNLEASHED

PHOTO: SUZY GORMAN THE INSIDER

O

JASMINE HUDA, RENE KNOTT, FAITH BERGER, SHERI SHERMAN, AMY MARXKORS, DANIEL KRAMER artfully giving back

Burns Recovered has given hundreds of young burn survivors a life-changing experience through camp. You can support the nonprofit Oct. 21 through Camp Art Fills the Heart, a fundraiser that includes an auction of paintings created by campers. The event will be held virtually and in person at Neiman Marcus.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TICKETS, VISIT BRSG.ORG/EVENTS.

Congratulations to Tacony Corporation! The local family company, which specializes in the distribution and marketing of sewing, cleaning and home care products, is celebrating 75 years in business.

PATTY

by patty hannum

Last month the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House opened its newly expanded Entomology Lab. The $600,000 project tripled the space of the old lab to offer an interactive experience for guests of all ages to learn about butterflies, insects and the scientists who care for them.

exploring motherhood

In a new exhibition, Barrett Barrera Projects is investigating the connection between expressive mark-making and motherhood. Curated by Jennifer Seas, Stretch Marks is on view at projects+gallery through Nov. 20.

AMY REIDEL, WORK FROM THE MOMBIES SERIES, 2021.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PROJECTS+GALLERY

AFTER HURRICANE IDA HIT SOUTHERN LOUISIANA,

the Humane Society of Missouri’s Animal Cruelty Task Force’s Disaster Response Team was deployed to assist with animal rescue and recovery. Over seven days, the team distributed supplies, answered calls for animal help from citizens and, ultimately, brought 37 dogs back to St. Louis to be adopted.

APPARENTLY, I AM A TEENAGE GIRL.

I was surprised to learn this because to most people, I appear to be a 61-year-old woman. Yet, according to an internal Facebook study The Wall Street Journal obtained, my reaction to social media is the same as most teenage girls. It can make me feel unattractive and cause anxiety. But before we jump into my psychological issues, let’s take a step back.

I come from a family that took very few photos. Since I was the youngest of six, I was the least photographed baby and toddler. My mom tried to pass off one of my sister’s baby picture’s as mine. My sister has brown hair. I have red hair. It didn’t work. My parents never lined us up for family photos or took us to Sears so a professional could snap our gorgeous group. When photos were taken it seemed like everyone had their mouths open, eyes closed and bodies contorted in odd positions. Oh, and school pictures—yikes! Even my senior picture was a sight to behold. I decided early on I was never going to be a model thus the way I looked in photos didn’t matter. And here is the disconnect that still exists in my head today: The person in the photo who looked so uncomfortable or maybe a little chubby or whose eyes were wonky wasn’t me. In reality, I was an above average looking person and kind of cute so why worry. It worked until, well, it didn’t.

First came Facebook. It seemed harmless enough. I actually reconnected with a lot of people I lost track of. I could minimize the number of pictures I posted and often just let my kids, dogs or memes represent my thoughts. It was fun actually. People were nice to each other, stories were exchanged, and then things started to change. I regularly posted my columns and would get lots of likes and nice comments. It felt good. I was a Writer. Then as time went on, Facebook started to change. Politics made things really tough. I disagreed with people I liked and respected. Reading posts on Facebook wasn’t enjoyable anymore. I stopped posting my columns because, to be honest, it didn’t seem like anyone really was enjoying them much anymore.

Then came Instagram. I could post pictures of sunsets, my dogs but, more importantly, my grandson. I followed lots of interesting people, mostly funny ones. But then influencers snuck in. You know, those impossibly good-looking people who might be around your age but look 20 years younger. Their skin was impeccable! Not a brown spot from too much sun anywhere. Oh, and their hair! Even during the pandemic somehow they kept the grey away. And finally, their bodies were stunning, and they swore it was all yoga! Plus they had four kids, without pain meds of course, and could still rock a bikini. I was a slug! I needed to be better! Get some work done on my face and body, pronto!

Well, no. I still think I look pretty good. Perhaps I could lose some weight, get a nip and tuck and practice how to pose so I too can look good on Instagram, but no. Even though Instagram causes me anxiety, I think the solution is to unfollow any and all influencers and stick to pictures of dogs and funny people. Peace my Peeps. &