When I was younger, it's not like my parents didn't want to get me braces. They simply could not afford it. I suppose one could argue that it was a sacrifice made in favor of other things, but it was still not a choice based on cruelty or neglect so much as the best decisions they could make with limited resources. (I'll say, too, that my parents didn't have the best saving/spending habits in the world, so I know they did the best they could, but it's not like we were destitute or anything. It was moreso that several small expenses were easier for them to manage than any single large expense.) In school, I saw friends and the popular kids all getting braces for a period of time. With a kid's perspective, I didn't think of the pain or hassle of braces. I saw them as something really cool that other kids got to do, that got them attention and even praise from peers and elders. I was envious, plain and simple.
So, here I am as an adult with braces, and I'm incredibly proud of myself for being able to get them. I do have insurance, but it covered only a small portion. (I now fully understand why my parents couldn't make the outlay for braces. I also have tons of sympathy for co-workers with multiple kids in braces as my company's plan has a family *lifetime* max of 2K for orthodontia...so the first kid's braces are helped by the insurance but by the time you get to kid 2 or kid 3, you're SOL.) The vast majority of the cost came from savings that I'd put into an HSA. Many folks are puzzled as to why I grin so big to show off my braces, why I delight in all of the parts of this experience...but to me, it's like having braces is a sign that I've hit a level beyond that of my parents...and that's a big accomplishment. The braces aren't the only sign of this, of course, but it's like the braces for me are the equivalent of a high-end convertible car or something...it's a status symbol to me, even if the rest of the world doesn't quite see it that way.
I wonder if others have had this same feeling? Do you feel like your orthodontia is an achievement that you should be proud of instead of something to hide? It seems like the traditional view is that braces are something to be ashamed of, but I can't wrap my brain around that, and it seems like others (who don't have braces or haven't since they were kids) are really thrown by me liking my braces.
