I was born with very pale white skin. I was always self-conscious about it. When I was fifteen (1976) I was at a sporting event (outdoors) with some friends. One of the guys threw a bottle of suntan lotion at me and said, "Here! You need to use this!" I was devastated. So I started tanning myself. Every spring I'd start the sun-worshiping thing. By summer I was constantly burning and tanning, over and over, all summer long. When tanning beds became available I used those in addition to tanning outdoors. Now I'm 55 and have sun damage to my skin, of course. I hope and pray that I don't get skin cancer from my many years of sun burns and sun exposure.

In my early 40's I got a lot of very colorful tattoos and finally felt happy with my skin color.

Life can be so ironic.