Remember seventh grade? Hawaiian print was cool, butterfly hair clips were a must-have, and puka shells were worn on every neck.
That was about seven years ago. Thankfully, I haven't seen anyone less than 40 wearing Hawaiian print lately, and the butterfly clips have stayed in the junior high hallways.
So, why is it that recently I have seen different people wearing puka shells again? Are the shells trying to make a comeback? I hope not.
It's not that the shells themselves are ugly. They really aren't. It's just that when they are put on a necklace, I can't stand them. They're better on a table, or at the bottom of the ocean.
I would much rather see something ridiculous like parachute pants make a comeback. That actually wouldn't be so ridiculous. I feel the parachute-pant trend faded away too quickly. My brother had this amazing pair that was faded gray and lime green with a gecko pattern all over it which I would steal an…OK, getting way sidetracked.
Back to the puka shells.
My roommates and I are on what we like to call "Puka watch." This game involves trying to find as many offenders as possible. We expected a challenge, and thought it would be hard to find people committing the puka crime.
But, no. Definitely not hard.
Sarah, with eyes like a hawk, managed to spot five different offenders on the first day we started.
But finding offenders doesn't require eagle eyes. Molly, who may or may not be blind, actually spotted three offenders. With puka shells making a hearty comeback on campus, it has to be asked. What is the motivation for wearing these?
Maybe they want to look like a 12-year-old who just started taking surf lessons from a guy who goes by his Hawaiian name, Huna. Huna wears puka shells. That's cool for him. Not for you.
Or, people just don't realize how wacky this is. (These shells are about as cool as me trying to bring back the word "wacky".) For the students at San Diego State, thanks for ruining our game by making it easier than framing Mary-Kate for Heath Ledger's untimely death. Too soon? Probably.
(I should credit Samantha Phillips for that one. And yes, she made me type her whole name because she's always wanted her name in the paper.) Congrats Sam, you made it!
Oddly enough (this is actually not hard to believe at all), Sarah got bonus points in our little game for making the observation that ALL of the people sporting puka shells also had bleach-blonde tips.
I would elaborate on this but it would take a whole new article. So, let's just put the bleached tips and puka shells in the category of "not OK."
-Natalie Duchala is a journalism sophomore who may or may not be bringing wacky back.
-This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec.
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