I spent every summer of my life until I was 22 years old at the Jersey Shore, which meant some serious sun exposure from June through August. All the way from playing with my bucket and shovel in the sand to sunbathing with my girlfriends in our bikinis and tanning oil. Yeah, I caught some serious rays. Especially in my teens. My mom pleaded with me every day to put sunblock on. But let's face it.... when you're a teenager , it's just not cool.
It was probably only a few years ago when I started taking sun protection seriously. Probably because that's when I started to become hyper aware of my crow's feet, which I'd like to think are because I smile a lot. But deep down I know they're probably from too much sun exposure. And I don't even want to THINK about all of the sunburns that I've had! And we all know what can result from that....
I've already had two pre-cancerous moles removed and yesterday my Opthomologist told me that I have a condition in my left eye called Pinguecula, which is also a likely result of the sun (it's not as serious as it sounds though and is benign!). But if that's the worst of it, then I guess I should consider myself lucky!
Still...if only I could go back and tell my 16 year old me to lather the sunblock on...
Please watch this video! It's really powerful (you may even shed a tear). Put your sunblock on... and pass this along to any 16 year olds you may know, or anyone else for that matter! :)
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